Determination

Philippians 3:14

I love the apostle Paul’s attitude revealed in his words: “I press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:14).

Those men and women who refuse to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future. People who do this are rarely petty. They are too involved in getting a job done to be preoccupied with yesterday’s hurts and concerns.

Very near the end of his full and productive life, Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). What a grand epitaph! He seized every day by the throat. He relentlessly pursued life.

I know human nature well enough to realize that some people excuse their bitterness over past hurts by thinking, It’s too late to change. I’ve been injured, and the wrong done against me is too great for me ever to forget it. Maybe Paul could press on—but not me!

A person with this mind-set is convinced he or she is the exception to the truths of God’s Word. This individual is determined not to change because “life has dealt him or her a bad hand.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

When God holds out hope, when God makes promises, when God says, “It can be done,” there are no exceptions. With each new dawn, there is delivered to your door a fresh, new package called “today.” God has designed us in such a way that we can handle only one package at a time . . . and He gives us all the grace we need for each day as we live out that day (Matthew 6:11, 34).

Like Paul did, seize every day by the throat. Relentlessly pursue life.

Let’s be too involved in getting a job done to be preoccupied with yesterday's petty hurts and concerns.

Charles R. Swindoll Tweet This

Taken from Improving Your Serve by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1981 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Posted in Christian Living and tagged .

Accuracy, clarity, and practicality all describe the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. Chuck is the chairman of the board at Insight for Living and the chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary. Chuck also serves as the senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where he is able to do what he loves most—teach the Bible to willing hearts. His focus on practical Bible application has been heard on the Insight for Living radio broadcast since 1979.

ఖచ్చితత్వం, స్పష్టత మరియు ఆచరణాత్మకత అన్నీ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విన్డాల్ యొక్క బైబిల్-బోధనా పరిచర్యను వివరిస్తాయి. చక్ ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ కు బోర్డు ఛైర్మన్ మరియు డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ఛాన్సలర్. చక్ టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చ్ యొక్క సీనియర్ పాస్టర్‌గా కూడా పనిచేస్తున్నారు, అక్కడ ఆయన చాలా ఇష్టపడేదాన్ని చేయగలుగుతున్నాడు-ఇష్టపడే హృదయాలకు బైబిల్ నేర్పిస్తున్నారు. ఆచరణాత్మక బైబిల్ అనువర్తనంపై ఆయన దృష్టి 1979 నుండి ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ రేడియో ప్రసారంలో వినబడుచున్నది.