Look Ahead

Wednesday, January 13

Look Ahead 

Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter considered to be the greatest of all time. There are a number of images which capture him running while looking back. For many we know the dangers of running ahead while looking behind. Have you watched someone run in one direction while looking in another? It usually doesn’t turn out well. Scripture tells us of one particular story that did not end well. Genesis 19 describes how Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom. Similar flowers of Christ are encouraged not to become distracted while running this race.

As the scripture encourages, we must forget what lies behind and press onto what lies ahead. If your praise is what will bring you out of a current situation how can you be distracted while trying to do the same thing that will bring you deliverance? In order to keep our focus we must challenge ourselves to not bring anything that is distracting into our lives.

We may be moving toward Christ but distracted by something else or we may be looking to Christ but going in another direction. Paul taught us to make sure our movement and our focus are in the same direction: Christ.