Philippians 3:13
"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

There is a time to hold on and a time to let go in life, and we desperately need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to know the difference. I know Paul was referring to our spiritual goal of achieving our calling, but the Lord spoke to me through this verse recently about my physical goals.

This year I celebrate 40 years of running, and making Christ the Lord of my life, not just my Savior. As a result I have prayed my way through running like everything else in life. Aging never really seem to slow me down significantly until the last several years. I could not forget the times I achieved in my 20’s through 40’s, but I was still holding respectable times and winning. However, I have not been able to accept my times in late 50’s and beginning my sixth decade of life. I was no linger content and began to lose the joy of running in my frustration. I trained harder than I ever had, but couldn’t understand why a 60 year old wasn’t keeping up with times from 20 years ago…

Because we usually think the things we need to let go of are negative, it never occurred to me it sometimes includes success or the positive. We can remember and cherish the past, but we cannot stop changes such as aging or unwanted divorces. We cannot continue to live in our past, but must choose to forget enough to allow us to press on toward the new goals of life we didn’t choose, but are a part of life for all of us.

Paul had a past he did not allow the enemy to lock him into. Let us hear the wisdom from God’s word of how to become content in unwelcome changes, and let us press on toward our ultimate goal which is for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
In His love.

Teresa Roberts

Masterpiece Fitness

276-237-6680

Nothing like a weekend escape from this world into His on the Appalachian Trail backpacking to gain true perspective in life.