Follow His Advice

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.” Philippians 3:12-15 (ESV)

“I learned that the hard way.” How many times have you heard that or perhaps even expressed the same about a lesson learned? Certainly, I have. We have also heard, “learn from experience, but do not repeat the past.”

John Maxwell has written a book entitled, Failing Forward, and the basic premise of the book is simply to learn from mistakes and allow them to become stepping stones for greater things. But do not make the same mistake again because that could be fatal. That is good advice for living.

Paul was a murderer. Before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, Paul was a Bounty Hunter. He tortured, imprisoned and even directed the deaths of those that had become followers of ‘The Way’. He was genuinely a ‘bad guy’ who was not to be messed with. After his experience on the Damascus Road, his reputation was a problem for him and perhaps kept him from relationships among ‘the faithful’. Therefore, he speaks from experience when he says, “forgetting what lies behind.”

Each of us, however, will learn from Paul if we would indeed forget what has taken place in our lives and “strain forward to what lies ahead.” We are who are, and we are where we are, in part, because of decisions that we and others have made. And Jesus tells us, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 (ESV)

Experiences, both good and bad, tend to mold the way that we think and act, therefore impacting our present state of affairs. And we allow them to dictate our lives. But, here is Biblical advice from which each of us would reap huge results if we follow:

“Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine…” Galatians 5:7-10(ESV)

Our lives would be much better if we would do these things:
1. Read God’s Word daily
2. Apply God’s Word daily
3. Talk to the Father daily
4. Follow His advice….”God will reveal that also to you.”