Life rewards the diligent, the aggressive, dreamers and those who don’t give chances to opportunities. Any achiever in life will have to encounter challenges/mountains and valleys, friction and lack in life and have to persevere through it with a positive attitude and focusing onto the prize. You have to press on in pursuit of that dream. In the scriptures, a lot of brethren had to press on despite the tribulations and trials. Paul said, ”Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 3:14(NIV)
To press on means to advance to the objective, to pursue or to move on regardless of the limitations. It also has the connotation of being persecuted as you’re moving on and In the present tense it means to keep on fighting. There’s a difference in just keeping on or existing and pressing on towards the objective for the purpose of the reward of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul had learned the lesson that even what appears to tear down, in the end will be built up.
Paul, as we have noted is not just waiting for the eternal state but something we can taste of in time. It has to do with a spiritual relationship that we can begin to enjoy now in this life. This brings out the importance of not quitting and going forward in the plan of God. Endurance is revealed not only in the ability to persist but the ability to start over. Always remember we are never losers until we quit trying. https://youtu.be/5Uj8DLfaWlI History has demonstrated that the most notable winners encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their failures or their defeats. They won because they refused to blame others for their present situation. There’s only one way you ultimately fail in the Christian life, and that is to quit or not to endure. We have been called to endure and to persist, to be consistent but not to stagnate. By pressing on, do not think that you will be purified through extreme events or by great trials. What God is after is that day by day love for Him and relationship with Him. Many people allow themselves to be led astray by the enemy, looking for the chills and the thrills or the sensational. Yet the Lord has warned us against these false teachings and the “false prophets and lying wonders of the last days.”
Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success or victory. This is why the Bible teaches that a man is not finished when he’s defeated; he’s finished when he quits.
Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,”
Job 5:19 “From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you.”
Psalm 37:24 “When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.”
I keep on pressing on whether the economy favors me or others, whether the weather is suitable for farming or not. It is always good to remain quite in faith when God is silently at work in your life behind the scenes without you even knowing about it. There is a great blessing from silence. Instead of talking to yourself and telling people about the challenges and the problems, there is the privilege of talking to the Lord in silence and thanking Him for all He has done for you.
Remember that Elijah learned the lesson that the Lord was not in the wind, the Lord was not in the earthquake, the Lord was not in the fire but then after the fire, Elijah heard that still small or literally silent voice. Do not despise the silence of the Lord when pursuing your goals, He is always behind the scene working for your good.
Too often, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, doing the same thing the same way over and over every day. But if we are going to live at our full potential, we should constantly be growing and sharpening our skills. We should strive to learn and grow every single day because when you stop learning, you stop growing. When you stop growing, you stop living.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1Corinthians9:24(NIV)
In whichever stage you are in your life, what are you doing to stretch yourself? What are you doing to rise higher and above that level? Don’t get trapped into thinking that “good enough” is good enough. You were created for more than just average. Every day is a new day, and there are new heights for you to climb. Pursue what you love and keep developing that area of your life. Take a class or find a mentor that will help you live skillfully. As you do, you’ll see growth and increase. You’ll stand before leaders and rulers and live the blessed life God has in store for you.
In 1999,I was a form two student at Bavuni secondary in Nakuru and was always the last student in class and also from a very humble background. I was expelled from school and went straight to Nakuru town as a street boy and was there for several years sometimes peddling drugs and pickpocketting. My dream was always to work in the medical field and the four years I was out of school didn’t change anything. I gave my life to christ on August 2003 and in 2004(after for years) went back to school. I pressed on working so hard and smart(remember I was always the last person in class),beat all the challenges as I was doing manual jobs like mjengo, prunning fences, digging pit latrines etc in the evening, weekends and holidays to pay the school fees. Today I have my own firms dealing with safety, emergency and medical issues and have trained thousands and employed dozens. I severally hire doctors and other medical professionals to serve under my Initiatives. I had to press on focusing on the goal/the big picture and nothing have stopped me.
God never created you to be ordinary. He created you to leave your mark on this generation. God wants you to do something big. He wants you to go further than anyone in your family. You have seeds of greatness on the inside.
A story is told of an Olympic champion who beat all odds to be crowned. Wilma Rudolf was born July 23, 1940 into a large family of 22 in Clarksville, Tennessee. Growing up in a community parted by racial discrimination, Wilma never received proper medical attention as a child. She was diagnosed with one illness after another: measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox and double pneumonia. Until finally she was diagnosed with polio, a crippling disease that had no cure and doctors told her mother that Wilma would never walk.
Wilma’s mother drove her to be treated twice a week at Meharry Hospital, the medical college in Nashville, even though it was 50 miles away and the family struggled raising the funds. After 2 years, Wilma was able to walk with the aid of metal leg braces and by the age of 12 she could walk normally with no assistance. It was then that she decided to become an athlete.
“My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces,” said Wilma. She would go on to win three gold medals in a single Olympics and be placed in the Olympics Hall of Fame.
No matter what has happened in your life, it is never too late to become everything HE created you to be. The key is to clear out all the negative things people have said about you and focus on what God says about you! You have exactly what you need for the race that’s been designed for you. You are destined to do great things. You’re destined to leave your mark on this generation, and it’s never too late to embrace all God has in store for you. God has blessings untold prepared for your future! He has favor in your future like you’ve never imagined. He wants to take you places you’ve never even dreamed of. But in order for us to partake of all these blessings, we have to increase our capacity to receive, have a vision for our future and press on in pursuit of it.
In 1996 when Usain Bolt watched the Atlanta Olympics 100 meter finals, he decided to be the fastest man in the world some day. After his decision he spent all his time and energy training and competing.
In his twenties he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. The doctor said that he could probably never compete again. He didn’t give up and found a way to keep his back in good condition.
In 2015 Bolt raced against Justin Gatlin in Peking Olympic Games 100m finals. The starting point was this: Gatlin was in his best ever physical condition. He had won all the competitions during the season. Bolt was not in a very good condition. He had had lots of back problems. The expectation was that Gatlin will conquer Bolt.
In the semifinals Gatlin was clearly the fastest. Bolt was close to ruining his semifinal run by almost falling in the start. He was still able to make it to the finals. Finals started well for both Gatlin and Bolt. Gatling was leading the race until 90 meters when his running broke down and Bolt got ahead of him. Bolt kept his position till the end and won the race by one hundredth of a second. His winning time was worse than Gatlin’s semifinal time but still just good enough for the victory.
Bolt was determined and did put all effort, persevered and today the whole world celebrate him.
You’ve got to let go of what didn’t work out. Let go of the hurts and pain. Let go of your disappointments and failures. You can’t do anything about the past, but you can do something about right now. Whether it happened 20 years ago or 20 minutes ago, let it go and move forward. If you keep bringing negative baggage from yesterday into today, it will poison your future. You may have had an unfair past, but you don’t have to have an unfair future.
You might be quitting, surrendering or killing yourself a few minutes before your breakthrough. You don’t dare think of saying enough is enough. A pregnant mothers endures for nine months and the labor pain doesn’t cause her to quit. You may be in your labor pain, few minutes to receiving and stepping to your great destiny so you better endure and persevere as your great days are ahead. Today is the lowest that you will ever be. Most athletes either win or lose depending on their attitudes few meters/minutes to the finishing line. The presence of the storm doesn’t mean the absence of God. The Lord will always take care of you for His names sake so DO NOT quit, square up your shoulders, head high, whistle a bit and declare that this is your season of great breakthrough and overflow and you will overcome all odds and victory is yours. Let’s put up the last minute\finishing stamina and win the race.
