Laying aside that which is behind...

"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. 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." -the apostle Paul

I was talking to a friend this week and they pointed out that this verse says "forgetting what lies behind", it doesn't just say the hard things or the bad things. This made me think of several things:

• An athlete that focuses on a loss will not progress, but neither will one who can only think about or boast of a victory. They must lay aside both and concentrate on the coming race/game.
• We must learn from failures to correct our weaknesses but if we dwell on them we are likely to be defeated in our mind well before stepping back on the playing field.
• If you are looking at what is behind you, you are likely to run into something.
• In life if we focus on where we have been we will end up standing still or moving very slowly.
• If soldiers stoped fighting after winning a battle they would loose the war.
• Lastly, the turtle won the race by facing the finish line. ;)

Basically, this verse was a great reminder that I have a goal and I need to keep pushing toward it.