Today's Verse

Only let us hold true to what we have attained. — Philippians 3:16 ESV

Devotion

I've come a long way. I've come a long way because I started pretty close to the bottom. I had a long way to go to get to where I am today. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I've arrived. (Philippians 3:12) I'm not saying that I don't have any further to go. What I'm saying is that I'm a long way from where I started. It's because, spiritually, I started from a very dark place. Spiritually, I was lost in the dark and couldn't find my way out, even if I wanted to, which I didn't. It's the Lord that deserves the credit. (Ephesians 2:8-10) It was the Lord that drew me out of that dark place and set me on a path upward and onward in the light. (John 1:4)

Like the Apostle Paul, however, I'm not satisfied with where I am. I'm looking forward to what's ahead. I'm trying to get there. He said, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) That's what I'm doing. I'm pressing on. I'm straining forward to what's ahead. I'm not focusing on where I've come from. I have no desire to go back there. I want even more of what I've already attained. What I have is good, but I know that there's much more.

That's why, as our verse for today says, I want to hold true to what I've already attained. I want, in other words, to keep from going backwards. I've come a long way and the last thing I want is to traverse the same path all over again. At the very least, I want to keep what I've already attained. I don't want to lose anything. The Holy Spirit enlightened me in the dark place I started from and I've been following Him ever since. I began with Him and I want to continue with Him. (Galatians 5:25) I know that He's leading me to the place I want to be, the place of the upward call of God.

Indeed, didn't I just hear the call once again? Isn't that the Lord up ahead calling to me? I must keep pressing on, I must keep straining forward!