Day Seventeen

Bible Reading

Phil 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Devotional

We’ve all seen a movie that got us to our feet, cheering on the hero as they overcome some major obstacle. Maybe they completed an impossible journey or defeated a much stronger foe, or maybe they crossed the finish line in first place. The thing we love about these stories is how the hero presses on despite the circumstances and everything that stands in their way. This is what we are called to as Christians! We press on! That is the battle cry of our hearts as we daily live our lives, not for our glory, but His. We let go of the past, the pain, the heartbreak, and the disappointments. We let go of the weight that pulls us down into depression or into despair, and instead we choose to live our lives full of faith and pursuit of Christ. We take God at His Word. In Christ we are a new creation. We have a new start and we choose to run. We run our race for God’s glory! We press into Him on the hard days because now we do not run our races alone. Jesus has made us His own and He’s not only waiting for us at the finish line, He’s been running the race along side of us the whole time.

Question to Think About

What does it look like in your own life right now to “Press on” despite the circumstances?