Pressing On

In Philippians 3:12, Paul says,

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Paul's challenge in this verse is for you and me to press on, to keep growing.  I believe one of the greatest assets in life that you and I have is the capacity to grow and change.  We have the capacity to press on.

One of the first steps in pressing on is to realize that you have not yet arrived.  Even the apostle Paul acknowledged and recognized that he had not yet arrived.  He said, Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected.

Paul understood that he had a lot of room for growth.  And if he did, so do we.

If you have grown stagnant in your spiritual life, you need to ask the question, "Why?"  Why is your spiritual life stunted?  Why are you not growing?  Why are you stymied in your spiritual progress?  What are your barriers to growth?

I believe that if we are willing to admit that we need to grow, then identify the barriers that are keeping a lid on our spiritual lives, and finally, by the grace of God, deal with those barriers and remove them, we will begin to press on and grow.

If you were to take a catfish and put it in a small fish tank, that fish would only grow to be 12 inches long and it might weigh a quarter of a pound.  But if you took that identical catfish and placed it into a lake, it might grow to be three feet long and weigh 60 pounds.

What was the barrier to its growth?  The tank kept it contained.  It grew to the limit that the environment allowed.

Remove the barriers to your spiritual growth and press on!

~Bayless Conley~