No peeking.
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
I got into the habit of Do It Yourself (DIY) projects back in high school. I figured any opportunity to save money was the way I needed to go. One particular DIY project I do is braiding my own hair instead of going to a professional. While this saves money, it is expensive in terms of time. When braiding my own hair there are so many opportunities for distraction, the biggest being breaks to check my progress. Every few braids, I can be found in front of the mirror checking to see how the process is coming along. Instead of keeping the momentum going, I undoubtedly add time to the process by critiquing an incomplete hairstyle. I waste time feeling discouraged when my hair looks less than perfect halfway through. I bet that’s why most professional hairstylists tend to wait until the end for the big reveal.
Sometimes we do the same thing in our journey with Christ. We spend precious time discouraging ourselves about all of our imperfections in “the middle”. Instead of running with endurance towards who God called us to, it’s easy to fall into the trap of constantly checking the progress. This can look like picking at all of your flaws as excuses for not accepting your dream job. It can look like scrolling endlessly, finding evidence for all the ways we haven’t made enough money, secured enough “bags”, or lost enough weight. One key idea in today’s verses is “forgetting what is behind”(vs. 13). You see, every time I pause my hair to complain about how much longer I have, that takes time away from actually finishing. When you and I beat ourselves up for falling short of perfection, we waste an opportunity to a) reflect on how far we’ve come; b) God’s grace to keep moving forward.
Every time I do my hair, I inevitably finish. And most times, it doesn’t turn out badly. In your life, there will always be things you could have done better; seasons you might have gotten through sooner. As part of our humanity, mistakes are a guarantee. However, God’s guarantee is this: “He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it” (Philippians 1:6). Know that when Jesus comes, and not a moment sooner, everything will be made right. Until then, don’t lose sleep over the middle. Instead, keep pressing toward the mark! The end is always better than the beginning.
