“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of [that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me].  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.” Philippians 3:13-14

Forgetting what is behind. Straining for what is ahead. Are you tired?  I’m tired!

How often do we stop striving for that goal we have set, giving up because we just don’t have any more to give, only to miss that our arrival was just around the corner and God’s strength was there to carry us forward?

Reading Hebrews 12:1-3, God speaks of how our focus can hold us back: “throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles.”  What hinders us and what sin entangles us?  Being consumed by our circumstances, striving toward the world’s standards, perfectionism, worry, pride, impatience (God is continually reminding me to ‘be patient with the process’), deliberate disobedience to God. These entangle us and hold us back from reaching our goals.  They make us weary and tired as they block our communication lines with our Father.  It’s hard to accept His wisdom and strength, and allow His Spirit to work in us, when those lines are blocked.  Our life becomes a maze, instead of the straight path that is promised when we don’t lean on our own understanding, and we do acknowledge and submit to the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6).

How do we throw off what so easily entangles? Hebrews 12:2 “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  He endured opposition, temptation, and ultimately the cross – who better to understand how hard life is, the temptations that are always before us, and show us how to keep our eyes fixed on our heavenly Father just as He did.

I challenge and encourage you today to read Philippians 3 and Hebrews 12, being sure to take in the contexts, and “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Hebrews 12:3