Irreversible Drive
Listen to Paul’s own words about some of his hardships 2 Corinthians 11: 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;But remember his words….PRESS ON!!
Someone is reading this blog today that needs to hear this encouragement and I hope it helps. I have heard some say when you get to a certain age “a switch” is flipped and you just exist. NOT FOR ME!! I want to be found growing, learning, changing, and being willing to change for the better through the power of the Holy Spirit!! Don’t you? Oh, I know we go through lean times and the unexpected hardship comes our way, but in reality we should stand up strong and say, “God is my strength” and press on. Where does this drive come from? JESUS. And having this drive does nott mean we have arrived yet. It just means we are ready to face life head on with the power of God. The verses above say a lot. 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, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Forgetting the past is tough. I know from experience. But you cannot let the failures of the past be a huge weight around your neck. Which brings to mind Psalm 118:24 24 This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. To move from our past problems is something most can relate to. Look at these lyrics from the Eagles song Get Over it. I turn on the tube and what do I see. A whole lotta people cryin’ “Don’t blame me”. They point their crooked little fingers at everbody else Spend all their time feelin’ sorry for themselves. Victim of this, victim of that. Your momma’s too thin; your daddy’s too fat Get over it. Get over it. All this whinin’ and cryin’ and pitchin’ a fit. Get over it, get over it..
The world’s version of how to “get over it” would be to pick ourselves up by our boot straps and let the human will take you to a new level. God’s Word has a different way of looking at this in 2 Corinthians 12: 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. So if. you want to have the right attitude about “pressing on” then this verse brings everything into focus. The conclusion is “we are weak.” We will always be fairly weak. But with God’s strength we are made strong. In our weakness His strength makes all things right and that puts us just where we need to be. In direct need of God’s strength to be able to press on.
All of this drive that God has given us is totally irreversible because when we accepted Christ we received the Holy Spirit and He is calling the shots now and we won’t be happy and strong until we turn our will over to Him and let His power change our life. This is not a self help type of thing. It is a “God is here to help” kind of thing. So submit to His will and live in His power and you will able to press on. The great thing about it is you will get better at it every time and your life will really come alive, no matter what your age. It’s not like I have all this together myself because as I write this I am actually self medicating, so let’s do this together and see just how awesome God can be!!
The Pilgrimage continues….
David Warren