Looking Forward
“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal...”
This is a new year. Whatever losses we sustained or successes we achieved last year, they are part of our past. Carrying old sins and attitudes into a new year adds a burden and impedes our progress. We should not wallow in our failures or rest on our laurels. We are not finished. We begin this year with new opportunities for growth and service. Japanese custom for the New Year is to take a new broom and sweep everything in the house clean. This is what we should do with our lives.
The only way to win a race is to look forward toward the goal. Those who spend precious time looking over their shoulders are doomed to failure. We may trip and fall, or lose our momentum. Paul was "straining forward," putting all his energy into achieving the goal. It takes strength and effort.
Our goal is perfection. We are moving toward Jesus Christ. We are to live in such perfect fellowship with Jesus that we become like him.
As we follow the truth which God has already given us, we will be given new knowledge for the next step. We will never reach the goal unless we begin running the race. As we live and serve in faith, God will lead and guide us day after day.
For Reflection: What useless baggage am I trying to carry into a new year?
A Prayer Seed:
Great God, we sing that mighty hand by which supported still we stand;
The opening year Your mercy shows; that mercy crowns it till it close.
Philip Doddridge, 1702-1751
