Straining Towards What is Ahead (Pt 1)

This past weekend we started a new series at The Chapel called Run.  I’ve been so excited about this series for both myself and for our whole church, but when Senior Pastor Jeff Griffin kicked it off with one of my favorite verses in scripture, I felt God really stirring me up.  The passage is Philippians 3:12-14.  This is the famous verse where Paul shares his own approach to growing in Christ. “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and…”  Wait for it.  “…and straining toward what is ahead…”  Paul doesn’t say “strolling”  or “striving” or “reaching” or “driving.”  He uses the word ’straining’.

I find ‘straining‘ to be such a great word and I think God was very deliberate in using it.  To strain is apply strenuous and continuous effort, pushing forcibly towards something.  The reality is that we only strain when there is opposition of some kind.  We only have to push forcibly if there is something that is opposing us.

Which brings me to my point (I know…finally!).  As Christians, we will never go another day without opposition.  I’ve been guilty of thinking that most of the time my movement to be closer to God and more like Christ should be relatively easy, with occasional times of hardship and opposition.  But I’ve come to the point of believing that such an idea is a fallacy.  If where God wants us to go is life-giving (John 10:10), then the enemy of God wants to steal, kill and destroy us along the way.  He will do anything he can to oppose us, to keep us from the abundant life that Christ intends for us.  We will never have another day without opposition.  Any movement we make or attempt to make will create some friction as we strain against that opposition.

One of the most effective ways to beat any opponent is to understand their tactics and techniques.  Sports teams will scout out their future opponents and watch endless hours of film to see what plays they typically use.  Doing so equips them to recognize those when such plays are coming and counteract them effectively.  As Christ-followers, we can do the same thing with our opposer.  The enemy has certain plays – strategies and tactics – that he uses over and over.  He uses them because they are effective at keeping us from our desires.

Over the next several days, I’m going to explore the four main tactics that the enemy uses, how we can recognize when he’s using them, and ways that we can strain through it toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Next:  Straining past the enemy’s use of deception.