Day 6

January 14

Justin Harris

Philippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

When I think of renovation, my mind immediately goes to HGTV… like one of those home renovations shows. What stands out to me is that when home renovations occur, there’s an acknowledgment that the form of the home must be changed. In that same context, a home renovation takes time and has many phases. When I read this passage in Philippians, one particular part stands out to me the most and it is when the writer states, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it”. I immediately think of the “form” a home takes on when it is renovated. 

I think a lot of times when we come to God, we expect him to change us immediately but it takes time and growth. Just like a home renovation, it isn’t done in a day. First, you have to demo, then paint, etc. There are several mini renovations that have to take place before the work is considered complete. Not to mention the obstacles that are encountered. If someone were to show up on Day 2 of a home renovation, they would see the home torn down and incomplete. In our own lives, it’s easy to get impatient with God, especially if we take our eyes off of what is ahead (the prize for which God has called us) and only focus on the present. If we look back in Philippians, we see the writer also state in an earlier passage that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion”. So, we know that if God has entered our lives, He will not fail us and will not yield until His work is complete. 

Thinking back to these home renovation shows, a lot of times the homeowner is reluctant to change their home and they have to trust their agent or contractor. The same can be said about trusting God. If we trust Him and press forward while forgetting what is behind us, we allow Him to shape us and renovate our lives. Who better to renovate our lives than the Creator of the universe? 

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your steadfastness and the fact that you will never give up on us. We know that we all are a work in progress but we humbly choose you to renovate the parts of our lives that need to be changed. Help us remain focused on what is ahead, we ask that you help remove strongholds that prevent us from forgetting what is behind. Father, we also ask that you not only do this for us individually, but that you would bring this forward to your church and our communities as a whole. In Jesus’ name, Amen.