Today’s Daily Bread ~ Press on!

Philippians 3:13-14 – No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.  I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

I have spent the last week in a big funk.

I told myself it was the weather.  I told myself it was the stomach bug going around.  At one point, I pondered that perhaps God didn’t want me to write anymore, and that I had been wrong about leaving my job at KSCS to attend seminary and pursue writing and speaking.  The real problem didn’t hit me until yesterday morning during my prayer time.  I had spent the last week drifting. 

Allow me to switch topics for a moment.

Running has been a passion of mine since the early 90s.  At one point, I had trained to run a marathon, even completing an 18 mile run until tendonitis got the best of me.  I was crushed, but told myself, “No big deal.  We’ll get this healed up and pick up right where I left off.”  Anyone who has ever competed in any kind of sport knows that it doesn’t quite work that way.

The body will stay in peak shape for about a week, then slowly but surely, muscles start to atrophy, strength starts to fade, and drive starts to disappear.  I spent 8 weeks resting my legs, and then started up again.  I went from running 18 miles in a respectable 3 hours and 7 minutes to barely completing 3 in 30.

On a spiritual level, it’s no different.

I have found that when I am very diligent about my prayer time, studying God’s Word and seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I’m in a good place.  Smack in the center of His will (until I disobey and have to repent, which always happens), hearing His voice and responding to His urgings.  Peak spiritual performance.  I like to do this first thing in the morning, and it usually carries me to the end of the day.  It amazes me though, how quickly I start to drift if I start to spiritually slack off.

That’s what happened last week.

I was good on Monday and Tuesday.  But then the ice storm hit, the kids were home, and I started staying up late.  Mike couldn’t get to his office, and housebound, he let me sleep in.  I stopped writing, figuring if every other business/school in town was closed for weather, so was I.  And without even noticing, I drifted away from the Lord. 

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

When a runner is training for a 5K race (3.1 miles), he doesn’t rest on what he’s already done.  You don’t run three miles and then say, “Whew!  Checked that off my list…I’m ready to do this thing!”  You continue to train, building upon your past accomplishments.  You add to your mileage to increase your endurance.  You incorporate interval workouts to increase your speed.  You don’t stop training until after the race is over.

I use a New Living Translation Bible (NLT).  The New International Version (NIV) phrases Philippians 3:13 this way – 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.  The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is similar –  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.  The original Greek word for reaching forward, straining toward and looking forward is epekteinomenos.  The word implies stretching, straining, reaching with all your strength.  It also implies that the further you stretch, the harder you strain; straining with ever-increasing intensity.  Just like a runner increases the intensity of his workouts as the race draws near, so must we press forward into God with that same ever-increasing intensity.

This morning, even as I write these words, God is showing me just how much I require discipline if I want to receive the full measure of peace and joy He has in store for me.  He is pointing out my pride, and revealing that I am not so spiritually mature that I can go without our daily time together.  On the contrary, spiritually mature Christians know that the closer they get to Christ, the more they need Him.  The more they know Him, the more they realize the depth of their dependence on Him, and they crave His Word, comfort and grace all the more.  May we never be satisfied with what we know of Jesus.  May we never be so arrogant to think we’ve arrived.  May that thirst for Christ never be quenched.

Psalm 94:12-13 – Happy are those whom You discipline, LORD, and those whom You teach from Your law.  You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked.

Dear Heavenly Father, we love You so much.  We confess that we don’t always seek You with our whole heart, mind and soul.  Thank You for revealing how much we need spiritual discipline.  For with Your discipline come blessings; peace, joy, contentment, kindness, compassion and love.  You are the source of all those things; may we never find them anywhere else.  God, please help us renew our commitment to Your Son.  Please help us be diligent in our study, our prayers, and our time spent with You.  Please help us to delight in You.  Multiply our faith exponentially, and bless us to bless others.  Make us bold for Your Son, Lord, always eager to shine Your light and share our testimony.  We thank You for all You have given us, and we thank You for the magnificent work of the cross.  We pray these things in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.