Pastor's Corner: Pressing on toward the goal

In Philippians 3:14, the Apostle Paul writes, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Any athlete knows it takes clear goals and consistent hard work to win an Olympic gold medal. Successful entrepreneurs are those who stay focused on their objectives and labor daily to achieve them.

Dreams may inspire but are only transformed from mere hopeful fantasies when they are defined by measurable goals with a clear plan or at least some specific starting steps and a commitment to follow through.

While it’s common to set a goal, it takes discipline to keep pursuing it, especially when we are faced with daily obstacles and continual distractions. It is much easier to fall into a survivor mentality, just getting through each day, instead of seeking to do better, to be more.

Stop for a moment today and think about where you can and should be striving for more. Don’t limit yourself to financial or career goals, as important as those may be. How can you be a more effective or patient parent, helpful family member or supportive friend? What practical steps can you take to improve your relationships and to work on them consistently?

I know this exercise can quickly become overwhelming; most of us feel the need for improvement in every area of our lives. So why not include God in the process? He knows everything, not only exactly where you are, but what your future holds. He knows which goals are a waste of time and which will change everything. He Himself has done nothing without a plan; from the moment He created the earth and humankind, He had a plan in place to rescue us from our own mistakes.

What is more, He has created each of us with divine purpose. In Philippians 3:12, Paul, recognizing that God already had a mission or goal in mind for his life, wrote, “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.”

How wonderful to arrive at the end of your life and know that it mattered, that you fulfilled your own amazing destiny and made a difference in the lives around you. That is a goal worth working toward!

And so you don’t get discouraged along the way, please remember that if you’ll let Him, God will keep working toward His goals for your life, even when you struggle to stay focused and consistent. In Philippians 1:6, our friend Paul also wrote that he was absolutely confident that God “who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”