"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." Philippians 3:12 NKJV
No doubt we have all said something similar about our progress in our relationship with Jesus. Some days it is so difficult and we fail miserably. Let us paraphrase the above statement and put it the way you may feel:
'I get close and I begin to feel that I've made it; everything appears good and I have a great sense of joy. Then, all of a sudden, something happens and I react badly to it. I really try not to but, I fail every time. I repent and tell Jesus that I won't let Him down again and then, the next moment I either bad-mouth someone or begin gossiping and judging. I then have to apologise to Jesus again. Surely, He will get tired of forgiving me, I would.
But today, I have woken up and have a great sense of peace upon me, 'This is the day the Lord has made,' I shout, 'I will rejoice and be glad in it'. And then, things begin to go wrong, I burn the toast - but don't lose my peace. I break a plate washing up - I still don't lose my peace. I miss the bin men and will have to wait until next time - but, I still don't lose my peace. I go out in the pouring rain, go to start the car but, it won't fire up, the battery is dead - I DO LOSE MY PEACE, BIG TIME.'
After a rant, rave and a good old moan, I calm down and once again apologise to Jesus for losing it. I feel Him say, 'Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me' John 14:1. I suddenly realise that I am only human, I am not perfect and sometimes I'm obsessed in trying to get things right for God, but in my own strength I can't. But, Jesus lives in my heart and as I ask Him to, He will guide me and help me through everything I face. All I have to do, is keep pressing on and one day I will get there to collect the treasure that Jesus has ready to give me.'
Jesus will forgive you, He is not some brutal taskmaster that will beat us every time we fail. When we tell Him that we did our best, He doesn't say, 'Well, your best is not good enough.' He would never say this; He looks at the finished article - us in glory, perfected. Yes it will happen one day, but, until then keep doing your best by pressing on. You will get the prize. That's a promise!
Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.
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