Moving Forward

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:13-14)

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Two words stand out in this beautiful teaching from St. Paul that suggest for us two valuable actions for change: Forgetting what lies behind and reaching Forward to what lies ahead.

The past is over but sometimes we can find ourselves stuck in it. I understand that very much ‘cause I used to make it my home too. But one day, God made me realize that I had to leave the past behind, to let go and let Him heal it.

What should we forget and leave behind? Our past sins, memories and circumstances that hurt us, people who’ve caused us pain whom we need to surrender and forgive, our past regrets, mistakes and failures. Forward is where we are headed.

I remember someone say, we may not be there yet, those things we want to become, but thank God we’re not who we used to be. Thanks be to God who makes all things new!

We forget the past except for valuable lessons learned which would help us build a better future.

But where are we headed? Another key word in this verse is to press on toward the goal, in other words to move forward and Focus on where we are going. We are headed toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God. Where is that? We are headed towards heaven. What will lead us to heaven? Love. Who will lead us there? Jesus.

Today we are being made new. We are encouraged to leave the past behind because God’s plans for our future is filled with hope. (Jeremiah 29:11). Let us focus now on Him who will bring us there.

I am thankful that God is the God of new beginnings and that our future in His hands is good. From despairing to hopeful, God’s love transforms us to who He wants us to be. Let us Follow Him.

Heart Song: Israel Houghton’s Moving Forward