Pressing On

Reprint of Devotional for Friday, July 16, 2010

“I press on toward the goal to win
the (supreme and heavenly) prize

to which God in Christ Jesus
is calling us upward.”

 Philippians 3:14

(Amplified Bible)

Pressing on, especially when you’re tired, takes focus and determination. It means not giving up, even when everything inside of you is screaming to quit. Pressing on takes strength and endurance. Pressing on will challenge you in every area of your being, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Pressing on takes faith and courage. It is the ability to see the finish line in your heart, even while the “race” seems to be more than you can bear. Pressing on is the ability to see those who are running beside you, those who are in front of you, and also those who are behind you. It is being encouraged by those who are ahead, and then turning to encourage those which are behind. It is knowing the kindness of being helped up when you have stumbled… and then being able to help others in the same way.

In my heart I see us all together, as a mighty army. I can almost hear the sound of a heavenly stampede, as our feet walk to the rhythm of our hearts. For we know that we do not “press on” without a purpose, but that there is a heavenly prize which awaits us. We know, and our hearts are assured that one day we will see Jesus face to face. Until the joy and wonder of that precious day arrives, pressing on teaches us to be effective and strong. It helps us to be unified and loving. It helps us to gain spiritual ground, and it gives us the ability to testify to the world, not by words… but by action.

Today I thank the Lord for the opportunities that He has given me to press on. I do not always like this “race” that we call life, or the difficult places that I seem to find myself in. But what I do like is that the Lord uses these situations and places in our lives to build us up, and to make us stronger. He takes the most difficult of times in our lives and uses them as an opportunity to reveal His strength, which He has placed inside of us. He uses these times to show us His compassion and His love, and He continues to help us, right when we need it the most.

Today I can only praise Him for His ability to press on towards the cross, a place that I cannot even imagine Him wanting to press on towards. I thank Him for His wisdom, His strength, and His love for pressing on. I thank Him that it was His love for you and I that kept Him going. I thank Him that He pressed on to the very end… for He knew that in completing all of that which had been set before Him, that He would purchase everlasting life and freedom for us all.

Written by Beverley A. Napier