<same as last time> But this 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. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. Philippians 3:13-15
Last time we looked at living every day of our lives instead of reacting and existing and wondering where the time went. Today, I want to look at how Paul tells us how he lives every day to the fullest: He does this in 3 thoughts:
1. Forget Yesterday; Don’t Stop
“Forgetting what is behind” – That is hard to do. Yet life is less than what it can be if we keep carrying around all of our yesterdays. Even if our past is stellar, it weighs us down. Paul isn’t telling us to press the ‘Delete’ button on the past from the tablet of our minds (and there’s no ‘Undo’ button in life). He meant that the past is not a place to stop—it’s a place to build upon.
Paul didn’t let his past failures or successes obstruct his present running of God’s race set before him. Like it says in Hebrews 12:1 …let us let go of everything that hinders, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
The literal translation, when it tells us to ‘let go of everything that hinders,’ is “get rid of every arrow tip stuck in us.” The implication is carrying an arrow tip inside, a wound that weighs us down and keeps us from running our race with freedom.
We’ve been in spiritual battles. Let go of the wounds. The race is now. Forget Yesterday.
2. Live Today with Eyes Fixed on Jesus
“This is the day the Lord has made, therefore be glad in it” (Ps 118:24). Live today. It is a gift from the God who loves us. Live it to the fullest. How do we live today? Hebrews tells us that we can “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” by “fixing our eyes on Jesus.”
Only Jesus can give our lives purpose. He is the One who created you and me in the womb. He is the One who birthed us as individuals and we will only find our purpose in Him (Jer 29:7). He is the source of abundant life, and the goal of living.
3. Trust Tomorrow into God’s Hands
Trust Tomorrow – there is victory here. “Take therefore no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow will take thought for the things of itself” (Matt 6:34). Refuse to worry about tomorrow. Refuse to count on tomorrow. Instead we need to trust our tomorrows to God.
Trust tomorrow to what God can do through us today. There are some things we can do today that will help us fulfill what God wants us to do tomorrow. Do them. This isn’t prohibiting wisdom. For example, a student can study today for tomorrow’s test.
God has brought you and me a long way over the years – and He has plans to take us further. How much further he takes us depends upon our actions today. We are determining our future right now!
So the first thing we can do about trusting God for tomorrow is following Him closely today. But secondly, we need to trust tomorrow to God to do the things we can’t do. The God who has seen us through and blessed us so far, is the same God who is out there paving the way for tomorrow.