Don’t look back! Look straight ahead!

I believe that gaining success in life is up for grabs for anyone. I think that it really doesn’t matter whether we are born in a rich or a poor family, for I have seen and heard that there are people who experienced the “Cinderella story” happened in their lives. No doubt, many had become unsuccessful, as it is very visible in our world. Now if anyone can be successful in their lives, then what keeps the people from gaining success?

What keeps people from gaining success in their lives, I believe, is the past. Well it is mainly because that is the only place where failures dwells in. We must know that our failures could greatly affect our future if we keep looking at it. Living in the past can make us stop from attaining our goal. Getting bombarded by our failures will hinder us from growing, learning, and living. Our mindset determines where we are going. And if we set our minds on failing, then that’s where we are destined to. But what should we do if we want to become successful?

“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.”

-Philippians 3:13

We all know that Apostle Paul had become successful in his Christian life, and here in this verse, he shared to us the secret of his success. I believe that this secret is not just applicable to our Christian lives, but to any ministry we are in; whether in sports, or in our work, or in our studies. Well what are these secrets shown in this verse?

First is forgetting what is behind. As I have said earlier, past is the dwelling place of failures. If we really want to gain success, then we must leave that one thing that could hinder us from gaining it. Christ has already redeemed us from these failures, for he had carried them all when he was crucified. This is something that we must all remember: In Christ, we are destined to overcome, and not to fail.

Second is straining toward what is ahead and pressing towards the goal. To gain success, our goal must be clearly drawn and set to our mind. As I have said earlier, our mindset determines where we are going. And if we set our minds to become successful in our Christian lives, or in the other things we do, then that is where we are headed to. But setting our minds to the goal isn’t enough, though. We must work hard and strive to attain that goal. And these are the secret to success.


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What should we boast about?

Being humans, do we have any rights to boast about our strengths? In our nature, we love to boast because we want other people to look up to us and get praises from them, but do we have any rights to do this? The truth is, we don’t. And for us believers of Christ, we must always take note of this.

As believers of Christ, we must always know that we only succeed by the grace of God. All of our strength came from it, and I personally believe that we have no rights to boast above anything, knowing that the strength we use for succeeding didn’t come from us. Also, being believers of Christ, we must not live by the flesh, for it’s very common to a man who lives by his flesh to be boastful about himself. But we must live by spirit instead, for in the spirit, we would know the will of God. And it is God’s will for us to not be boastful about our strength.

But even though we have no rights to boast about our strength, we must know that there is still this one thing that God allows us to boast about.

What is this one thing that God wants us to boast about?

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

-2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV

Like what Paul said in the verse above, we can boast about our weakness. Why should boast about our weakness? Because it is where the real strength comes from! If we are broken enough every time we do anything, accepting with all our heart that we are nothing and we can do nothing without the help of God, then that’s the time where God’s grace will move into us. And this grace that moves into us becomes our own strength that will help us to overcome in every obstacle in our lives! This power that God has granted to us through His grace is the only thing we could ever boast about, and in this, I believe.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

-2 Corinthians 12:10, NIV

So with this, we must rejoice every time, whether when we are strong or weak, for by God’s grace, we are made overcomers. This grace that has been granted is something that we should rejoice for, for without it, we are nothing.

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