“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”
Philippians 3:12 (RSV)
Every sport has a goalpost or a home base, that signifies a point of accomplishment. Just as in a game or a sport, our lives are filled with various goals. We may have physical fitness goals, educational goals, career goals, romantic goals or financial goals, throughout the different phases of our lives.
There is a temporary sense of satisfaction in reaching any of these goals, but when something unexpected happens and a goal seem no longer attainable, due to a tragedy, an illness, or any type of loss, I know from experience, that it’s difficult to overcome feelings of disillusionment. It’s a struggle to find hope and we may even start thinking that our best days are behind us, instead of ahead of us.
That’s exactly what Satan wants us to believe. The enemy of our souls, wants to steal our joy, kill our faith and destroy our hope, but we trust in God, who loves us, and has good plans for us. He wants to lead us forward to fulfill the best, lasting and eternal goals He has for us.
We forget that the trials in our lives are just snapshots, not the whole story. God sees the whole picture, and He has His own goals for us too. His goals outlast the temporary problems we face. In spite of all the setbacks we see, God prepares us by grace, for our best unseen and more lasting goals.
Paul tells us not to fix our eyes on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
As we rely on God, He brings eternal beauty out of those temporary ashes in our lives. There is a rich and deep peace in knowing God loves us and calls us His own, and because He believes in us, He allows certain trials in our lives. He then uses those trials to transform and shape us according to His wisdom, for our best eternal benefit.
Everyone is in a preparation process for eternity, whether we know it or not. We are eternal beings and were made for a greater purpose than to acquire things, reach our goals, leave a prestigious legacy, and then die. Of all the marks to leave in this world, the ones that mean the most, are the eternal ones. It’s the mark of our inner transformation by God, as we run to that finish line through faith in Jesus.
We are eternal beings, surrounded by a great cloud of eternal witnesses who are looking down from heaven and cheering us on, while we run this marathon race of faith throughout our lives. (Hebrews 12:1)
We occasionally need reminding that we are running a race, and are being observed by those witnesses above, who besides Jesus, includes all the heroes of faith who went before us, myriads of angels, and many deceased loved ones and friends.
Since we are running a race, we fix our eyes on the finish line above. We strive for excellence with an eternal perspective, knowing we are in the process of meeting the goals God has for us. We make His goals our own, since He loved us first and called us His own.
Lord, seal our hearts as we run the race of faith, keeping our eyes on the things above, and we trust that your perfect plan is unfolding in each of our lives. Amen