You have to understand that all we have so far been encouraged to go for is not going to land in our laps. We have to push through and stick with it no matter what comes our way. James 1:2-5-calls it the testing of your faith so don’t doubt but believe it or you will be double minded and unstable in all your ways and never get where you want to be.

1 Tim 6:12 says “Fight the good fight of faith-lay hold on eternal life to which you were called.”
Whether you like it or not you will have to contend for your calling.You  do that in the Spirit with a determined purpose of eternity in mind. In doing so make sure you do not deviate from your course.
Its a bit like crossing a river on stepping stones. If you step off or deviate from your course the river will sweep you away and then it is difficult to fight back and end up in the same place that you were when you stepped off.

However  take comfort also in 2 Tim 4:14-17.
That passage declares that no matter what may be against you the Lord will stand with you. Believe that. Put your faith out with confidence to see that happen in your life.

Overcoming the Status Quo
Philippians 3:12 says “I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me.”
You have to constantly press on and overcome any natural tendency in you to stagnate where you are. Now some people find that easy to do it comes natural to keep moving and keep busy. For others it is easier to just relax and enjoy things as they are because life is good or life is that way anyhow. However no matter where you are in life God is calling you to keep going.

You can’t stay where you are and finish your course.You are supposed to grow and increase. I have a great saying that is a real challenge to me and I guess it will be for you also

“What got you to where you are won’t get you to where you need to be”

Now that may be a tough thing to say but it is only because God is aiming for  the very best in you so He always desires for you to move forward. There is always more in God. We will never exhaust our knowledge of Him.

Philippians 3 tells us to forget what is behind and press on into to the high calling God has for us. Now for some this may be a cause of personal pain if it is something that may have filled your time until now. But consider it this way. Forgetting does not mean you can’t remember it anymore, why would you do that any way if it was good. No it comes from a Greek word “epilantheo” which means turning from one thing to focus on something else.
Its like what happens when two people marry. They turn away from a single life to focus on their future life together. If they never make that change and don’t “forget” what is behind then they will never enter into the joy and fullness of married life. Can you think of anything worse than being married but living like your single. It really doesn’t work yet it is surprising how many try that and then wonder when things go wrong.

So also in the same way there may be some things that you have done or even acheived but you will need to let go of them in order to move up into the fulness of what God has for you. Over the years my wife Julie and I have moved on several times to do new things in our work and vocation.I remember people asking us when we first moved from secular work to work for Jesse Duplantis. Everyone kept on asking us if we were missing our old jobs and we kept saying “no to tell you the truth we have been so busy with what we are doing we have not had time to look back”. The same happened moving from JDM to pastoring the church we were responsible for.
One thing I have learned is that often God works with us in seasons. It may not be easy moving from one season to another but God will never waste anything of gifting and knowledge that we have gained along the way. We will always find what we have learned equips us uniquely for what God has planned for us in our future.So whatever you do keep going and don’t be distracted from your destiny.

In Matthew 16:23 we see Peter unwittingly trying to suggest to Jesus that He go some different way than God’s plan for Him and Jesus refused because his  focus was on fulfilling the reason why He was on the planet. Elsewhere it says he set his face like flint for Jerusalem because he knew what was
coming. We have to do the same thing if we are to finish our race. Jesus was declaring I am turning from yesterday to focus on the goal  that is laid out before me.

I hope this series has been helpful for you.This is is an opportunity for change. This is your year and your time
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to lay aside the failures, the sin that would try so easily to beset us, the past that we can no longer do anything about.
If you think about it you can only do something about today and that will in turn affect your future.
You don’t overcome the past mentally i.e. by worry and doing mind exercises, you overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony. So you can place the past under the blood and have a great story of what Jesus is doing in you now.

So declare out loud

I overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony
This is my year for change and blessing
I will focus and finish my course.