Pressing On

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-14 NIV)

There is an ebb and flow to life.  There are highs and lows.  There are times when things are hard and times when we just ride the wave of everything going our way.  As believers, it is easy to praise God, to be excited about our relationship with Him when things are going well, but what about the inevitable times when things are going badly?  When Mom dies, or the parents get divorced, or the boyfriend dumps us, or the dream job eludes us.  What then?

The true test of our faith is what becomes of it when things go south, when life becomes very difficult.  Do we wilt in the face of the trials or do we press on, our faith perhaps shaken but still intact?  

The path of faith is narrow and Jesus said that few find it (Matthew 7:13-14), but the path is not smooth and not everyone who starts out on it will reach its end.  As Paul exemplifies, believers must press on (strain) to the finish.  The Christian life is not a sprint of a few months or years.  It is a lifelong journey, a marathon, along which we will face many obstacles and hazards.  It is not for the fainthearted.  Walking by faith and not by sight along this path will probably be the hardest thing you ever do, but also the most rewarding.  For those who press on and remain faithful to the end, the great prize of eternity with God awaits.  

Anything truly worth having does not come without cost.  The price of the Christian journey can often be high and the experience often difficult, but the reward waiting at the end makes it all worthwhile.  

Today, if you are finding life hard, now is the time to press on, relying on the Lord’s strength to carry you.  Don’t give up.  For a great prize is waiting for you at the end!

© Jim Musser 2015