March Forth

There has been at least one event in everyone's life that has held them down for a while. Why not drop your burdens and start moving forward?

This life was never promised to be easy. I mean look at what Jesus had to face in His lifetime - being tempted by Satan in the desert, people constantly saying that He was a liar and hypocrite, even being killed on a cross because the Pharisees and Sadducees (along with many others) didn't like Him. Jesus faced all that and look who He is! We can't expect to get a free ride through this life if even Jesus couldn't.

Bad things do happen throughout everyone's lifetime - whether they choose to tell anyone about it or not. I've had my share of hard times, and I'm sure you've had some too. The question is: How did it affect you? Did you ruminate and sulk about what was happening? Were you able to move on from that season?

Sometimes the situations that come up in our lives are the ones that seemingly make us or break us. They can make us grow as a person - or as a Christian - and we can learn from the things we just experienced how we can handle a situation like that differently, and hopefully better if it didn't go too well. They can also break us - leaving us feeling lost and abandoned, without hope, without courage. The situation can leave us feeling afraid to move on, afraid of what might lie ahead. When times are tough, look to the Bible for some encouragement.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

Now, if you read from verse 3 to verse 11, you'll see that Paul is praying for the Philippians here. He's showing them how much he prays for them and what he prays for. This is such a great prayer! Just as Paul is praying for the Philippians in this passage, I hope that there is someone who is praying like this for you. Paul is encouraging the Philippians to continue exactly what they've been doing - helping him spread the Good News of Christ. They started spreading the Good News as soon as they heard it from Paul and ended up reaching many people.

You may not be spreading the Gospel of Christ like Paul and the Philippians, but God will continue His good work in you until the day He returns. Surely He will guide and keep you through EVERY circumstance and situation in your life - the good ones and the bad ones. Whatever has happened or will happen in your life is in God's hands. He began His good work within you and He will continue it until He comes back! Don't get stuck in a rut when you go through a difficult time or season - keep the past in the past.

Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (GW)

Listen to Paul's advice in this passage - don't look back, run straight toward the goal! Everybody has different goals in life. I believe I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Life would not be exciting if everyone had the same calling and the same goals. Just because your goal is different than your friend's or what other people say your goal should be doesn't mean you're doing something wrong in life! God's got you in His hands!

A lot of things happen throughout everyone's lives. Good things. Bad things. Things that seem good but turn out bad. Things that seem bad but turn out good. Everyone's experienced an assortment of these things throughout their lives. Many have made it through and others have been broken by the events in their lives - some have even faked it until they made it. What have you done? What will you choose to do from this point on? I've chosen to lengthen my stride and run straight toward the goal to win God's heavenly prize. How about you?