No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV
Lest anyone think Paul is a perfectionist, he admits he is "still not all I should be". The later half of this sentence proves he's not a perfectionist because he says "but I am focusing all my energies" on looking forward. Speaking as a former perfectionist, failing to live up to ones high standards is very on hard on a perfectionist. In fact, it caused me to live in guilt, shame, bitterness, resentment most of the time and thus perpetuated the problem. Oh, we're not talking about my old life, we're talking about Paul (sorry). Paul knew he couldn't stay focused on all that he wasn't. He had to focus on forgetting the past and concentrate on what lies ahead. That's what God wants for us too. He has a plan and a purpose for our life. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." The enemy wants you to stay stuck in your messed up past, so you won't try living out God's purposes. Therefore, "we need to strain to reach the end of the race" like Paul did. Also we need to remember that it is God in us that causes us to will and act according to His purpose.
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