Day 33 — Is This The Year?

Philippians 3: 12-14

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Over the last five years, when the words, ‘London Marathon Ballot Result’ have appeared in my inbox, there has been a terrible fear – will this year be the year I get in? I don’t particularly like running, but for some reason I keep applying. The marathon itself would be an experience, but the gruelling hours of training on my own, in the cold and dark winter months, does not appeal.

Pastor and author, John Mark Comer once said, ‘You want the life, but you don’t want the lifestyle!’. I want to be able to say I’ve run the marathon in sub-four hours… but I don’t want to train! That however could not be said about Paul the author of today’s passage.

Paul was all-in, he knew the direction he was going, he knew the life that God had called him into, and nothing would stop him, even his past. To put it mildly, Paul’s past was chequered: he persecuted and killed Christians before miraculously having his life turned around (see Acts 9). Yet even though he had got things badly wrong, he accepted God’s grace and forgiveness, embraced the opportunities that were in front of him, and pressed on towards the goal. He strained in his pursuit of the gospel – it wasn’t easy, but he wanted the life… so he knew he had to embrace the lifestyle.

I know when opportunities come my way there can be a fear that, because my past isn’t good enough, I won’t be good enough for what God has placed in front of me. I know we can all be held back because of things like this. But following Paul’s example let us recognise that we all have a past – but that does not disqualify us from what God has called us into. Let’s press on together!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to press on towards the goal that you have called us towards. Amen.

James Leavy
Leadership Team