Daily Devotional for Saturday March 8, 2003

Pressing On

(Philippians 4:12-14)

Pressing on. Some days when you wake up, you just don't feel like fighting any longer. You are tired of the battles, tired of the struggles, with no desire to keep fighting. Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi, gives us some great daily advice. He says, "Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead." How often are we weary and tired because we are still looking at the past? Allowing those past problems and situations to hold us down today. Listen, what is past is past. The enemy wants to hold you back by keeping you focused on the past. I am telling you today to let it go and live for today. Focus on today and tomorrow, not yesterday.

So many I deal with every day are in a pit of quicksand called "yesterdays problems". First of all, whatever those problems are, it is time to turn them over to God and start living for today. Most of what is going on isn't going to be fixed quickly, isn't going to have an overnight answer, and is going to take a power much greater than yourself to fix. After all, if you could fix it, you would have already. Turn it over to God. Does that make it go away magically? No. But it does put it in the hands of our Lord who can start working it through and getting you beyond those circumstances.

In the meantime, you have today in front of you. Tomorrow on the horizon. Get out of the quicksand of yesterday, and start living for Him today. You will be surprised how much quicker and easier your past problems work out when you are concentrating on serving the Lord today. I understand that there are many complicated and difficult situations many of you are facing today. I am not trying to minimize those in any way. I am encouraging you to quit focusing so much on the problems of yesterday, and start making the most of your opportunities today, looking towards the challenges of tomorrow. Looking back can paralyze you, looking forward can energize you.

I love you and care about you so much. I am praying for you. Be blessed this day, and take the challenge to leave the past behind, and push forward, onto the prize!

In His love and service, Your friend and brother, Bill Keller