Press on

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 NIV

One of the best nuggets of wisdom I ever got hit over the head width was “You do not need to move on, but Rick you need to move forward.” My pastor leveled me with that statement a few months after Jordyn died. He loves me in spite of my flaws and he also knew me well enough to recognize what was happening. In short, I was kind of stuck on September 11, 2009. He knew to not tell me to move on. That would have made it sound like I was not handling things well. Worse, it could also have sounded like moving on from Jordyn, and that would have shut my mind. He was telling me that Mary, Alyson and Korbin needed me in the present. He needed me in the present. I needed me in the present.

With 2020 coming to a close it seems like an appropriate time for that advice to be in use again. For some, it has been a rough year. Jobs have been lost. We know people who have heard every diagnosis from the flu to Corona to potential cancer. Friends and family have died. Friends have had family members go home. Even people with a strong faith have been shaken.

I have been trying to think about how I am supposed to help proceed, “press on” is the best thing I can share. I have no answer as to why some are hit harder than others. I have no answer to sooth anxiety over election results, past election results, news events, natural disasters or really anything else for that matter. What soothes my anxiety might not register with you and vice versa. Things that find you standing strong may shake me.

If you are having an argument with someone, “move forward” may sort of give a temporary peace even though the issue has not been solved. If you are having an argument with God, “move forward” may be how He tells me that there are other things to be concerned with. I have asked God many questions, I do not get the answer I seek all too often and He certainly is not required to explain Himself.

Typically, I think my challenge is pressing on without the answer. Do I trust Him? Do I turn to Him when that trust is tested? Do I gossip about God? Tell someone you “know” what God is doing and you may be gossiping. Sometimes we get foretastes but man it sure seems like we usually have to eat the meal and see what the aftertaste is.

He is God and we are not His equal. Whatever He has in store for any of us is usually on a need-to-know basis and most of the time we do not need to know. That would negate faith. If we knew how and when everything was going to take place, we really are not trusting anything or anyone.

Some humans have the capacity to lead. But really a good leader needs to have good followers or else chaos has to continually be redirected. In large events, leadership is actually easier. If my house is on fire and someone I do not know tells me to take my family through a door to safety, we are gone. True, more uncommon leadership is actually harder when events become ordinary. The path is not as obvious.

I am not saying that 2020 is totally ordinary. We have had health scares before. We have had elections before. We have had stock markets rise and fall. We have had natural disasters before. Is this worse? My dad was born in 1929 and her used to tell stories about how hard life was. History has recorded numerous events predicted to be the end times.

We can discuss multiple theories on that, but I would suggest that if taken in its entirety, the last year will somewhat normalize over time. By comparison, 2009 is the worst year of my life. To others, it may be the best. To you, 2020 may actually be horrible – and I do not doubt that at all - to me it is one of the best years of my life and certainly contained the best day of my life, June 13, 2020 when I got to walk my daughter down the aisle to Logan.

My point is this, pressing on can mean different things to different people, but I want to challenge you and I like my pastor did that day. You already took in the year, but do not get stuck in it. Don’t keep rewinding the same scenes, they will always end the same. Use it for fuel. Point yourself and your family in the direction capable of guiding a day to day life through extraordinary events. Focus on the only outcome that will matter in the end – heaven.

Given the last year, have you discussed fatigue or fear with anyone? Have you discussed it with God?

Given the last year have you discussed hope for the future with anyone lately? Have you discussed it with God?

Challenge: Be observant. If your own family or anyone in your circle of influence is feeling overwhelmed or pessimistic about the future, or even about today, be the leader they need in the ordinary. Point them to the extraordinary. Press on – heaven is waiting.

Rick Claiborn