Where Are You Going?

What are you running after?

I think it has to do with what gets you excited. What's your ultimate goal and ambition? What do you want to see happen more than anything else?

We all know the "right" answer…but what is the true answer?

The true answer has been different for me in different seasons of my life.

• I've run after the elusive "cool" status amongst my peers.
• I've run after the thrill of getting that cute girl in school or church to realize just how awesome of a boyfriend I would make.
• I ran and worked hard to obtain the position of "Lufkin High School Drum Major." For those of you that don't know…drum major is equal to "biggest band nerd." This thoroughly demolished my ability to obtain the "cool" status. (To those of you band nerds out there, more power to ya! I loved it!)
• Even still, at different times, I'm tempted all the time to run after various things like fame, money, pleasure, title…

I've been in a relationship with Jesus for a while now, but I feel that in the last couple of years I'm just starting to truly run after the "right" thing.

What is the "right" thing really?

But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 3:14

Here is what the upward call is:

• Running to truly abide and delight in Christ (John 15)
• Running to truly see Him glorified and beautifully displayed in all that I do (1 Timothy 1:16)
• Running to truly love others (John 13:34-25)
• Running to be a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
• Running to see His kingdom come and will be done in this world (2 Corinthians 5:20)
• Running to deny and let go of my sin and my flesh (Luke 9:23-24)

When I press on towards this call, some of the "prizes" I've experienced are wholeness, genuine satisfaction, relief and rest, joy in work, and contentment that allows me to enjoy the good, sweet gifts from God such as my wife.

And all this happens while running!

I can hardly image what the prize is going to be like once I cross over my finish line. I can hardly imagine what it is going to be like to see Jesus. I can hardly imagine what it's going to be like to be 100% whole, perfect, complete in body, spirit, relationally, and emotionally. (cue Mercy Me song)

We all get sidetracked. We all get distracted. We all have to work to throw aside the things that weigh us down or get us off course (Hebrews 12:2). Even Paul said that he had not yet obtained what he'd like to obtain. (Phil.3:12)

I'm writing this to encourage you to really evaluate what you are running towards.

I'm writing this to encourage you to press on in pursuing the upward call. Press on, not because you're supposed to…but because you GET to.

Press on because the ultimate prize is worth it. Press on because the prizes along the way are worth it.

Know what you are running after.

There are a lot of great things to obtain along the way. Success isn't a bad thing. Pleasure isn't a bad thing. Relationships that give you butterflies aren't bad things. They are just SO much better if you obtain them while running after the greatest thing.

Some of these guys say it better than me:

Put first things first and second things are thrown in. Put second things first and you lose both first and second things. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased. 

-C.S. Lewis

The believer must devote himself to “running the Christian race.” No athlete succeeds by doing everything; he succeeds by specializing. There are those few athletes who seem proficient in many sports, but they are the exception. The winners are those who concentrate, who keep their eyes on the goal and let nothing distract them. 

- Wiersbe 

Have you ever experienced gaining something you wanted only to realize it wasn't as great as you thought?