Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
How do we look at our lives? Do we live in the past? Are we resting on our successes or dwelling on our failures?
Paul could look back at his life and see epic failure as one who stood against the cause of Christ … one who was at times solely responsible for the imprisonment and death of His disciples! What a heavy burden!! Surely thinking of this, he writes in 1 Timothy 1:15 that he is the chief of sinners.
Paul also had the opportunity to enumerate the great successes of his life as one we could argue was the greatest of all the Apostles, planting many churches and leading countless souls to Christ .. but that was not his way.
Though the landscape of his life was littered with failures and successes, he teaches us that the past is the past. What matters is what we do today, looking forward to our Heavenly goal.
What occupies our minds each morning when we wake up? Are we present in this day, eager for the challenges that await us? I too have spectacular failures and some pretty fantastic successes in my yesterdays … but I challenge myself each day to focus on what this day holds.
The Psalmist declares, “This is the day Yahweh has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 With this mindset, we can let yesterday be yesterday and press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus!