New Beginnings (Part 2)
Philippians 3:14 NASB
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Whatever the journey is that God has for you in 2022, you can be sure it will take dedication, discipline and determination. It will take dedication to the daily task God has required of you. It will take discipline to know what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. And it will take determination to stay at it and not give up. You will certainly grow weary and face discouragement, but still, you are to journey on with endurance and faith.
Philippians 3:12 - 14 likens this journey to a race. The imagery in these verses tells us to reach forward, to press on, to attain the prize, to press toward the goal. We believers are “journeying on” in this Christian race.
“Press on toward the goal!” Can’t you just hear the Apostle Paul standing there with great determination and resolve telling these Philippian Christians to “press on”? By the time Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians, he was in the “second half” of life. He had learned a few lessons, he had suffered through a few defeats and he had enjoyed a few victories. But he had not “arrived”. In vs. 13 Paul tells us he is still on the journey by saying, “brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet”. He wasn’t perfect and he certainly wasn’t through with the race. He was still pressing on! So the question is obvious: to what are we pressing?
Just what is the goal in vs. 14? The goal is Christlikeness! We are to press on to be more and more like Jesus. Philippians 2:12 – 13 says, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Our goal is to work out our salvation! Salvation is a gift we received; now let’s fulfill that gift and let it have its full measure in our lives. So “press on” toward the goal of Christlikeness. Be faithful to fill your mind with God’s Word. Become a person of deep, intimate prayer. Be a “one another” believer by getting under the faithful teaching of God’s Word with God’s people in a Bible believing church. “Press on”!
And so the 2022 journey begins! I pray that you will allow Philippians 3:12 – 16 to guide you on your journey in Christ.
Scriptures for the journey: I Corinthians 9:24 – 27, Hebrews 12:1 – 3, Hebrews 12: 12 - 17