Press On!

 Dear friends and fellow blog readers!

So, I've been having a stirring in my heart to write about this notion of pressing on for a few days now but I put it on the back burner for a bit. With that being said, I'm so glad I did, cause in between that gave me the space to listen in from the Lord on matters close to my heart which now lends me back to this same very stirring in my heart I had a few days ago, so here I am writing, once again.

Back in 2019 I was asking the Lord why certain things had happened in my life. For example, the main one back then was with regards to not graduating with my law degree (due to mental health). I was not satisfied with answers I was hearing from some people around me (no offence meant) with regards to things like God having better plans for me etc so finally I took it to the Lord in prayer. And, well, the Lord was quick to respond, that same night He gave me scripture from 2 Corinthians 4 which really spoke to my heart. But today I'd like to write on this particular scripture, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 which really was a revelation to me back in 2019 and more recently, a scripture my lay pastor gave me here concerning 'moving forward', Paul's famous words of pressing on towards the prize as found in Philippians 3.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 writes, 'For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.' If I look back at my life, I see pockets of brokenness everywhere (and no, I'm not asking for sympathy here - just writing to effect of what I'm trying to get across). These scriptures are some of the most beautiful words I've honestly heard from the Lord through scripture as I dwell upon them. In my later years in life I've experienced loss due to health reasons. Yet I have this certainty in Christ, that 'this light momentary affliction' is nothing in comparison to all that I have gained in Christ. Don't get me wrong, I have come to understand in a very personal way that God is good and He never intends for us to go through suffering in life. Yet, this is a broken world and in the midst of it there is brokenness. But when I speak Christ, I speak of Him as a loving Father and a faithful companion through it all. Indeed, He is a good good Father. With us in every moment and in every way, He never leaves us and is always with us. So when I write about 'this momentary affliction... preparing us...' and that 'we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen' I write from a heart of understanding the Father, that He never wants us to be in suffering (hence affliction) yet even in the midst of the affliction, He is there with us and this prepares us because we get to know Him. And this, is the most important thing. 

So now I would like to flip over to Philippians 3:7-8(a) and 14. Phil. 3:7-8(a) says, 'But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.' I look back at my 31 years of life and there is so much, so so much I have gained in life and to that I am grateful. But with all that I have also had the uncanny privilege of going through much loss and honestly if anyone were to look at my life they may only feel the sorrow of what I have gone through. And even though in that sense that may be true, the gains to which I have had in my life as well as the losses, I count a beautiful privilege in the midst of getting to know a very personal Father. I am not saying that the losses are beautiful, but I am saying that because of them God's nearness to me in those moments have been ever so real and ever so present that I cannot deny that nothing in this world matters more than knowing Him. 

So with that, I end on the note of Paul's words in Phil 3:14:-

'I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.' Press on, because life is so much more meaningful when you have this beautiful Father ever near and so close always. Press on, because the things that are unseen that are eternal, they matter. And press on, because we all suffer loss in life but nothing is worth more than knowing the One who knows loss and is there with you every step of the way. Press on! 

Much love, 

Mary Ruth