Pressing In and Pressing On….

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”

Marie Curie (French Physicist, twice winner of the Nobel Prize, 1867-1934)

I hate to bring this up, but life is HARD. It is demanding and relentless and so many times you just feel like giving up. But what would you do then? Are we here on this earth to just feel overwhelmed and frustrated and eventually give up? How can anyone face a future without the possibility of success? What a hopeless way to live!

Is it not better to work out the muscles of our faith and courage until we are able to not only outlast but overcome? We were meant for more than we know now. We were meant to BE more than we are when we begin. Just like a child that is born is not destined to stay as a helpless and senseless newborn, we are all meant to grow and change and become bolder, stronger, and more able to take on the world. We are given dreams and hopes in life that are not just electric rabbits in the race, meant to make us run faster and harder, but without any chance that we will get what we really want. What good is a dream if there is no way to make it come true?

Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 6:2-4

There is no work without a reward. The greater the effort and longer the task, the greater the reward will be. Scooping up an ice cream cone and handing it to someone is not much work nor does it take much time. However, building a mansion takes a lot of time and planning as the rooms are ordered and suited to the people who will be living there. After it is built, the rooms must be finished up (ie: carpeted, painted, furnished, and decorated). It must be inspected and measured at every step along the way. The people must then come to live there and make it their own.

The goal of pressing in is to become more and more a person who resembles Jesus. The things we endure along the way are like the pressure of the cookie cutter, shaping the shapeless, giving purpose to the purposeless. Your life is leading toward great rewards. All your tears and frustration and disappointment mean something. Sticking with it is hard work, but the best things in life are more than worth it.

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 : 13-14