Philippians 3:12-14 – “I do not mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” NLT

There is a country song that Alan Jackson sings that includes the lyrics where he tells his wife that he is trying to be what she wants him to be, and he even asked the Lord to help him, and the Lord told him to tell her “Just be patient I’m a work in progress.”  That is me – I am a work in progress! 

Every time I think I have arrived at some level in my life, I discover a painful revelation that I have not, and to my dismay, my humanness shines through for all to see.  I am not trying to be “perfect” in my own strength, but I am trying to be “fully surrendered” to Him and pliable in the hands of the Holy Spirit so He can mold me into what God wants me to be.  Sometimes that is easy and pleasurable, and sometimes it is quite a struggle.  I wish I could say I am always willing to cooperate, but that would not be the truth, and I am pretty sure that most of you face the same dilemma.

The one thing the apostle Paul said here that leaps off the page for me is that he was “forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”  He was focused on the finish, not the start of the race.  Along the way, things that were future become present, then past, and once they are past, you do not look back. You keep looking forward and reaching for, working toward the finish line. 

I used to walk every day 3-5 miles in a session and kept looking toward the finish.  I never looked to see how far I had traveled, but I looked for landmarks that let me know that I was progressing toward the finish.  My view was what was ahead, not what was behind.  It kept me motivated to keep moving. 

The same is true in the spiritual realm.  I do not live on memories of the past or try to live on experiences of the past; I want the newness that God has.  I desire the fresh wine of the Spirit.  I love to read and enjoy reading testimonies of people of God and their experiences, but I never try to vicariously live through what they experienced. I keep reaching for my own experience in God.  I enjoy watching people grow in the Lord, but their experiences will not develop my life spiritually.  Their testimonies will encourage and motivate me, but I must “press toward the mark” myself and reach for the prize in my own life.

A few years ago, I told my wife, “Honey, I’m not perfect.”  She dryly replied, “Everyone knows that.”  Her statement helped me embrace reality.  I knew she was right.  If my heart believed I had attained perfection, I might have been offended, but I was not.  My desire and goal are to grow continually and be stretched in the Lord, and as I become more like Him, I will not have to tell people I am. They will know it. 

I do not have to tell people what my ministry gift is. They tell me.  I do not mean that they reveal something to me that I do not know, but if there is a gift in me that God has placed there, I will function in that gift, and people will recognize it.  That is why I do not like titles and labels; I like function.  I respect the credentials of people and will never devalue that, but I am more interested in functions than titles.  I am more interested in what we are doing with what God has done in us and where He has brought us. 

When your humanity shines through, do not despair.  Realize that you are indeed a “work in progress” and keep pressing toward the mark. Keep reaching upward and allow the Holy Spirit to reach inward, molding you more and more into the image of Jesus one day and one step at a time.

May God be with you as you go through your day!