Keep Pressing Toward the Mark

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:14)

"And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse." Mark 5:25-26

The Bible tells us that a woman with an issue of blood went to various physicians to help heal her of her issues. She sought their help for twelve years, but they were unsuccessful in their attempts to help her. She could have given up because some of the best and brightest physicians of her region could not help her, but she didn't.

27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" 31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' " 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." Mark 5:27-34

The Bible says that when she saw Jesus in a crowd, she pressed her way through it and made contact with His garment and was healed of her issues. Her willingness to continue to keep pressing made the difference in her life. If you have some issues in your life that you have been unable to overcome, let me encourage you to keep pressing towards God in prayer, and as it was with this woman, He will dry up your issues as well.

Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. ~Josh Billings

These famous people never gave up:

Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken had his chicken recipe rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it.
Henry Ford went broke five times before succeeding.
During its first years Coca-Cola only sold 400 bottles of Coke.
NBA hall of famer Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Dr. Seuss was rejected by 23 different publishers before the 24th took on his book.
Think about this... If any of these now famous people gave up doing what they were doing they would not be famous today would they.

Personal Testimony

I can remember my first time speaking to the youth group at my church. I felt like I did horrible, In my mind I failed very badly. I was so nervous that I didn't think anyone got the point I was trying to make that night. But I had to build off that failure and didn't give up on trying to be the best speaker I can be. And here I am 2 years later still doing what God has called me to do.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

A distance race that requires endurance, persistence, and sustained effort-not a short sprint. The writer compared the Christian life to a long-distance race. The runners-believers-find themselves surrounded by a great "cloud of witnesses," or the heroes of faithfulness. These witnesses are not heavenly spectators who observe the conduct of Christians, but those who have given testimony by their examples (see Heb. 11).

Christians can run the race of life well only by laying aside any impediment that hinders one from putting forward his best effort. "Sin," especially that of "unbelief," also forms a crippling hindrance to good running.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. – Michael Jordan