13Brothers and
sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I
do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
This past weekend I was blessed to celebrate my 30th
Anniversary of pledging Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. with my Sands at the
Kentucky Derby. I don’t know what I ever
thought the derby was but I never imaged it was literally one race. That’s right, 20 horses – 20 of the elite thoroughbreds
have all been preparing to run this one race.
Weather conditions were such that other than the first 3-5 horses out of
the gate, the jockey and the horse literally was running blind because of the
mud being tossed n their eyes. Justify
was the horse that prevailed the winner!
It was an exciting time and made me think about our own race we are running
day by day.
When we accepted Christ and began this journey with him, it
was like a newborn in a stable, not yet walking and depending on mother for
nourishment and guidance. We didn’t
venture out as newborns, we had to wait to get our legs strong enough to even
stand up for the first time.
As we continue in this race, we are winning some and losing
some little qualifier races along the way.
Sometimes we get it right and other times we don’t. However, we must FORGET those losses that are
behind us and focus on the WINS that are in front of us. Even though there are injuries that take us
out of the running, there is always a balm in Gilead that allows us to get
right back in it when the time is right.
By his stripes we are healed!
As in this year’s derby the weather conditions are not
always conducive to the plans God has for us in the race, but he has sent a
jockey (Holy Spirit) to ride with us. He
is whispering in our ear all along the race letting us know – you are more than
a conqueror, you are the head and not the tail, you can do this, I will never
leave you nor forsake you, go my child go – keep running! Along the race you may have mud in your face
from seemingly being behind, but God is with you and all you need to do is keep
PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL! Here is the
most important part – don’t look back! Forget
those things which are behind. When you
look back or dwell in the past, you can derail your forward movement. At the speed those horse were going, if they
had taken their eyes off the track, they could have literally crashed and not
only killed their progress but the progress of those around them running close
by.
Keep STRAINING for the prize that is ahead! The Father is in heaven with the son (our
personal intercessor) cheering you on! You
got this! This is your race, and you are
nothing but a winner in Christ Jesus!
That’s what I heard today – be blessed and be a blessing!
