DON’T FORGET ME

Dawn Dyson
5 days ago
6 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

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 (Philippians 3:13, NIV).

…Because it is better.

Now, Paul was likely in his 50s or 60s when he scripted this letter. This verse declares he does not have “retirement” on his mind whatsoever. “Straining toward” (ekteino) is drawing near, and it brings to mind the following passage: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). “Forgetting” (lanthano) is not a disconnect from oneself or God (Who is beginning and end), but a purposeful laying down of what we (had earlier) presumed would happen, for we begin to trust God’s actual solutions and pathways are superior to our idealized ones. In other words, we put down our feeble Plan A, B, C, D…Z, and wholeheartedly accept God’s one, original, true Plan for our lives (no parachute versions needed). We look forward to it, in fact.

In forgetting what lies behind us, we are never to forget all God has done and delivered us from. Rather we forget the sin and offenses, and we become very mindful and aware of the holy. We choose to believe the best. We wrap everything in love, by choice, because it is the greatest thing that remains (I Corinthians 13:13).

Now while we are to recount (and be thankful for) the illustrious acts of the Lord (Psalm 103:2, 118:17), and be fully cognizant of the unique person God has created us to be from conception (Psalm 139:16), in Philippians 3:13, Paul states he aims to forget what lies behind and he reaches forward toward God and the good things that are ahead of him.

This is a good place to take a break and ask yourself if you are looking ahead at God’s goodness, expectantly, or if you are dreading your future. What helps us switch from dread to hope is actually a simple, biblical metaphor of the trajectory believers should follow: a mighty oak tree stretching its branches up toward the sun (see Isaiah 61:1-3). A mighty oak illustrates a believer’s lifelong pattern of proper and healthy growth straight toward God, with lifted face, arms outstretched, willing and able to meet with Him as often as is possible.

Like an oak tree, believers need tenacity and decisiveness to be engaged in life for the long haul. To do this, we accept seasons of deep, dormant rest, times when we let go and let God, times when we are dry, bare branches. But we endure change and stagnation with the purpose of recharging like spring buds so we can faithfully proceed and once again grow, reach and press up toward the purposes and plans of a warm, loving God.

Like that stately, stand-apart tree, we do not rescind, quit, curl under or give up. Our “aim”—like Paul’s—is not back where we started. Rather, we grow. We care for ourselves and others (Matthew 22:37-40), and—most importantly, we continue to venture into the unknown, reaching up to God as He reaches down to us, as His face shines upon us to be good to us (Numbers 6:24-26).

Accept God’s love no matter what season you are in.

Of the Lord’s work to which believers are called, Jesus states: “No one who puts their hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Growing like a lofty oak, or plowing a field, both require very hard labor. Fieldsmen must press ahead with the same sort of persistence as the oak tree, and must also learn how to rest well (not in excessive depression or grief, for instance, but in remote study and private communion with God—a sabbath rest, a proper solitude). Like Paul, like the oak, believers must have a heavenward aim. Similarly, plowmen must undertake plowing a field in a precisely straight direction! Those gospel workers who look back end up confused, with curved, crossed, and conflicting rows that throw off the whole pattern of the field. Such believers lack biblical direction, and will not prove true at heart unless God intervenes and puts them back on course.

Think of all the work God has done with you over your lifetime, training and teaching you, positioning you and preparing you. The detail! The preciseness! Who do we think we are to turn our backs on His painstaking work and walk out on faith midway? No, His objective is far more important than our temporary doubt.

So how do we hold that line? Jesus Himself described how He received direction and clarity on God’s will:

I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord—but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me (John 5:30, AMPC).

Jesus went off often to the mountain to pray, as was His custom (see Luke 22:39). He didn’t just do it by happenstance, but He made private conversation with God customary (part of who He was and how He lived His earthly life). As believers, if Jesus kept to this custom, so must we, all the more. We require time alone with God as a vital necessity, so we can clearly receive God’s directions and orders for our next phase of growth. This is what keeps us from being confused and anxious during times of decision. God brings the clarity and the leadership we so desperately crave.

Pressing ahead into the unknown—faithfully, uprightly—requires regular meetings with God: in prayer, in study, in contemplation, in time, in space, in relationship, in love, until we understand our next move, until we clearly have a sense of direction.

We meet with God until His will becomes crystal clear

and we choose it over our own every time.

In Philippians 3:13, essentially Paul is reiterating, “Not my will (I’ve relinquished that), but God’s will be done (I strive for it). This is my main purpose until He calls me home.” You can hear that fresh sap entering dry woodgrain. Like Jesus, Paul might be thinking, “I know where I came from, and I know where I’m going.” (See Luke 17:32, 22:42; and John 8:14.) In verse 14 (NIV), Paul finishes, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul wants to win as a Christian, and he knows the surest pathway is onefold: to choose God's will. While Christ has done it all, we want to follow what He has done and follow it very well, very precisely. Therefore, Paul shows us that he has a clear goal in mind, a clear vision to walk forward in. He shows us he has peace each step of the way, and great confidence, even in the latter stages of his life when many people today want to settle in and decline. Paul chooses to incline! You and I can have that same outlook today.

Remember: the stateliest of oaks continues to grow year after year,

and it grows unapologetically.

Take your stand. Occupy your space as a Christian!

Again, as believers, we do not forget any good thing God has done in our past (see Deuteronomy 8). Nor do we forget who and Whose we are. Rather, we forget our former shame and take hold of the blessings of God. We forget our self-laid plans because we begin to see that they pale in comparison to God’s plans. As we walk, we begin to realize God’s plans have been laid down for us since before the beginning of time. They are perfect plans that span all of our days, so we can have faith to walk in them, and confidence in the God Who perfectly prepared them.

What do you believe? If you believe God is good (Mark 10:18), and His thoughts and plans are good (Jeremiah 29:11), you can have confidence the rest of your days will be good. Paul himself considers everything rubbish in comparison with knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8), so make knowing Christ your aim. Grow heavenward. This world is God’s field, plowed by us by His design; souls are His to harvest; salvation is His glorious yield. We are merely participants who will be eternally blessed by all the work that God has done. We will, eternally, get to enjoy the fruits of His labor. He welcomes and invites us to join Him at His table.

So, mighty oak of righteousness, take this time to rest, make it your custom to connect with God, listen to His voice to get your orders and obey them, and get ready to break new ground in the upcoming seasons of your blessed life.

May God bless you.

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