Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.
Philippians 3:13 NKJV.
Today I bumped into a collection of my digitized photos. They reminded me that I have been to many different places in my country Kenya and America. As I looked through them and encountered my old pictures, I reminisced about my past. The truth is that some photos in this album gave me feelings of joy, whereas others were saddening.
This one that has me and my bosom friend rekindled a reminiscence of joy. I almost regretted why God did not bring him my way sooner than later to steer me in the direction of Christ. Nonetheless, I encountered Jesus at God’s appointed time. This photo brought alive the transforming aha! moment when I turned to God and tasted his goodness.
But some photos brought me sadness. They captured that part of my life when I sought happiness and meaning in life apart from God. They show me with others running anyhow and everywhere to see and acknowledge, touch and feel, taste and experience anything that would give meaning and quench our hearts’ desires.
Despite our appearance of having everything figured out and being on top of the world, beneath concealed is a plethora of smoldering anxieties, frustrations, and vanities. These “unreal” pictures reminded me of the trendy and flashy social media pictures that cover up the reality of our conflicted experiences and project to the world the impression that we have it all figured out and “tucked in.” These “unreal” splashes of posts intimidate our audience to imagine that if they are not “where we are” and doing “what we are doing,” then they are missing out on something big.
Our devotion text reminds us not to dwell on our past or present conflicted deceptions, confusions, losses, and disappointments but focus our eyes on a vision of God walking with and welcoming us to his glorious abode. Akin to runners in a race, we need to focus on winning the prize set before us. God is not concerned about the spots that we have visited without him but is invested in where we are going with him.
We must not let our history nor present challenges interfere with our homeward journey. The dead hand of the past and our conflicted present must not derail us. Pilgrimage to our new home does not demand that we have it all figured out or held together. Feelings of regret for “doing or not doing this or that” in this life are an unnecessary burden to our homeward race. All we need is to set our eyes on the prize that God has set before us and keep the focus no matter what comes our way.
Prayer:
Precious Lord.
Thank you for dying for me and redeeming my life,
Thank you for your blessed assurance of eternal life.
As I walk through the joys and pitfalls of this life,
Help me to set aside unnecessary burdens like regrets and sadness,
And singularly focus my eyes on the prize that you have graciously set before me.
Amen!