Focus on the Journey

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

In an interesting story published recently titled “Stop Asking Your Friends ‘What Was Your Time?’ After a Race—and Say This Instead,” the writer said, “ It’s time to reframe the postrace conversation.” The writer went on to say, “When someone tells you they ran a marathon, chances are, your first question is ‘what was your time?’ That’s a totally normal response; a race is measured by the clock. Everyone knows how fast the fastest runners finish, and those times can serve as a reference point by which people, including non-runners, can gauge other performances.” However, “fixating on outcome goals (like what the finish clock says) has a minimal effect on performance. Process goals—or celebrating the little victories along the way—had a much larger effect. To put it simply: Focusing on the journey instead of the end point is proven to be rewarding and it actually leads to better results.”

And, you know, when it comes to focusing on the journey in our spiritual race, Paul was clear that he had not reached the end point but would focus his eyes on this one thing until he did… “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,” saying, “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Did you get that “us” part, By saying this, Paul reminded all of us that the success of a person’s spiritual race wasn’t measured by a clock but by how faithfully he or she ran the race, not allowing anything to keep them from finishing, no matter how long it took. Furthermore, the measure of success was, once again, not in how quickly Paul finished the race but in that he ran it so well as to receive the heavenly prize that awaited him—and awaits every believer who stays focused on the goal until the end. 

So, don’t get caught up in measuring success as the world does my friend. The journey to the ultimate finish line will be filled with obstacles, hurdles, and pain and it may take a long time to complete. But if you press on as Paul did, you will reach the end and claim the prize. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the examples in the Bible we have to follow that show us that the road to the finish line is never easy. Help us to be those people who never give up, never look back, and never take our eyes off You. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!