The year has begun and I am sure many of you are thinking in the words of Paul to the Philippians “Not that I have already obtained it or already become perfect” (3:12a) and that’s great if you want to reach the prize. What is the prize you might ask? Well according to the passage the prize is spiritual perfection, or Christlikeness. However, I believe some key principles can be applied to life in general.

If a person wants to receive the prize they must first have Proper Awareness of where or what you are not. Many of us have started this year off with keys goals in mind and to be honest 3 months in and we are not there. However, in order to reach the goal it requires Maximum Effort. Paul says, “but I press on so that I may lay hold of…” (3:12b) thus an individual will not reach the goal until they first realize the need to improve and then it takes a springing forth. Paul believed in total dependency on God’s power to work in and through him (Col 1:29). Later in the same book Paul writes “I can do all things through Christ who infuses inner strength into me” (Phil 4:13 – paraphrase). Therefore, we lean and depend on the Lord to make it do what it do.

Many of us have faced our giants and moved beyond the obstacle that face us, but we have become stagnant thinking we have arrived, yet we have not reached the goal by which we set out to ascertain. We must Spring Forward and focus our attention on that which lies ahead. Notice Paul says “…forgetting what lies behind and reaching (springing) forward to what lies ahead” (3:13). Springing forward, or reaching forward, translates as stretching a muscle to its limitations to reach a goal. One of my favorite movies “Rocky 4” said it best “no pain no gain” therefore we must push ourselves to the limit to reach the goal, because ultimately we are trying to make the Lord famous with our goals and aspirations. So as we Spring Forward naturally, I pray that you use this time as a reminder to Spring Forward in your pursuit of the ultimate prize.

 

Application:

What are some things that hinder you from reaching your goals? What will you take away from this blog? Have you made much progress? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?