Mark Lowry introduced me to the concept of Letting go of my life by trusting God through one of his Comedy and Music albums. A few years later, David and the Giants released Let Go and Let God. Similar to Carrie Underwood’s song Jesus Take the Wheel, letting go means to yield total control of your life over to God. The apostle Paul refers to this as the Lordship of Christ, where Jesus becomes more than a friend and Savior, deepening your relationship to make Jesus the Lord of your life, Romans 10:9-11.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will [o]ease and relieve and [p]refresh [q]your souls.] 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest ([r]relief and ease and refreshment and [s]recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is wholesome (useful, [t]good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne, Matthew 11:28-30.
As a former cross-country runner, reaching forward is a body posture technique to maintain your forward momentum. This is accomplished by slightly tilting your chest forward while keeping your head fixated on the course in front of you. When heads slouch down toward the ground, forward momentum is broken which drastically slows your pace. From a spiritual perspective, reaching forward refers to unloading any burdens from your past so that you can refocus your attention on the future.
Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. 13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward, Philippians 3:12-14.
The apostle Paul highlights what it means to press on in the passage above. Christians should not become complacent in their spiritual lives. Rather than live a lukewarm life, aided by idleness, press onto take hold of God’s will for your life, Romans 12:1-2. This includes flaming into fan the spiritual gifts God has given you, 1 Corinthians 12:1-7. These qualities were placed inside of you to fulfill the great commission, Acts 1:8, by pressing on to tell the world about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 