I am a part of a generation that grew up without ever using a computer. I went through my entire school experience from kindergarten through seminary and never once used a computer. In fact, I never even took any classes on how to type! (That’s one of those things I look back on and wish I had done). After I had finished seminary and went to the first church I would serve I decided to get a computer. It had a 64-megabyte hard drive and 4 megabytes of RAM memory. The man I bought it from said that the computer I was buying would be all I ever needed in a computer. Now, anyone who has a computer will tell you that 64/4 set-up is barely enough to start most computers today. But at the time it was the “latest and greatest” in computer technology. Needless to say, the computer was s-l-o-w. But the truth is it got the job done at the time. One of the commands I learned first was using the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys together when it got so slow I could not even shut it down. I realize that there are probably people reading this who have never even touched a computer so to explain, you can hold down the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys and if you do that twice it shuts down your computer. It’s called “rebooting” and basically, it gives the computer a fresh start.
Sometimes we might wish we had a way to just push a button and start all over in some area of life. Life is hard. We face life as a series of joys and struggles, hardships and triumphs. We move through life learning, celebrating, struggling and growing closer to God as He directs our lives. But sometimes things lock up. Sometimes, life does not move forward. Sometimes all that we know comes crashing down around us and life forces us to shut down; to reboot. While it might be easy on a computer, starting over can be devastating on a person. A computer starts up again in a few seconds, for us it may take years. A computer will lose a document or a few hours of work, for us we might lose all we have and all we have known. Maybe even all that has taken us a lifetime to build. A computer clears the memory when it reboots. Our memories stay fresh and clear and painful. We carry the pain and hurt everyday of our lives from that day forward. It can seem impossible to do but I believe that through the power of God in the Holy Spirit we can get on with our lives.
In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul said, Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
It may seem that what Paul said there is impossible. How in the world do we forget the things that we have come through? The memories are too fresh, the struggle is too recent or maybe the hurt is still too real. Well, Paul gives us the second part of the equation; we forget what is behind by “straining toward what is ahead” or simply put we move forward. I thank God that there is a "forward." To be honest, I have been at points in my life where I didn’t even know that there was a forward much less what that "forward" night be; but the forward keeps us reaching in the right direction. Then, as we strain forward we “press on”. There is only one way to press on – we do that through the power of God. To often people will reject this passage because they will say, “I’ve tried pressing on and moving forward but I just can’t do it!” I tell those people, “You’re right, YOU can’t do it!!” It takes the power we get through the Holy Spirit of God. We press on in HIS power! And we move forward, pressing onward for “the prize”. Fellowship with God through Jesus Christ is the prize. The prize is the highest calling anyone could ever answer and the most secure place we can ever be.
My prayer for you today is that you are moving forward in the power of God toward the prize of fellowship with Him. Or maybe you have the prize; either way today you can “reboot” and start over again.
Sometimes we might wish we had a way to just push a button and start all over in some area of life. Life is hard. We face life as a series of joys and struggles, hardships and triumphs. We move through life learning, celebrating, struggling and growing closer to God as He directs our lives. But sometimes things lock up. Sometimes, life does not move forward. Sometimes all that we know comes crashing down around us and life forces us to shut down; to reboot. While it might be easy on a computer, starting over can be devastating on a person. A computer starts up again in a few seconds, for us it may take years. A computer will lose a document or a few hours of work, for us we might lose all we have and all we have known. Maybe even all that has taken us a lifetime to build. A computer clears the memory when it reboots. Our memories stay fresh and clear and painful. We carry the pain and hurt everyday of our lives from that day forward. It can seem impossible to do but I believe that through the power of God in the Holy Spirit we can get on with our lives.
In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul said, Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
It may seem that what Paul said there is impossible. How in the world do we forget the things that we have come through? The memories are too fresh, the struggle is too recent or maybe the hurt is still too real. Well, Paul gives us the second part of the equation; we forget what is behind by “straining toward what is ahead” or simply put we move forward. I thank God that there is a "forward." To be honest, I have been at points in my life where I didn’t even know that there was a forward much less what that "forward" night be; but the forward keeps us reaching in the right direction. Then, as we strain forward we “press on”. There is only one way to press on – we do that through the power of God. To often people will reject this passage because they will say, “I’ve tried pressing on and moving forward but I just can’t do it!” I tell those people, “You’re right, YOU can’t do it!!” It takes the power we get through the Holy Spirit of God. We press on in HIS power! And we move forward, pressing onward for “the prize”. Fellowship with God through Jesus Christ is the prize. The prize is the highest calling anyone could ever answer and the most secure place we can ever be.
My prayer for you today is that you are moving forward in the power of God toward the prize of fellowship with Him. Or maybe you have the prize; either way today you can “reboot” and start over again.
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