The Upward Call

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 270, The Upward Call.

Hear these words from Paul. Let them land:

"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." Philippians 3, verses 13 and 14.

One thing. Just one.

Paul was not a simple man. He carried a life full of history — achievements, suffering, failures, and revelations that few human beings have ever known. And with all of that, with all that weight behind him, he stands before us and says: one thing I do. Not a checklist. Not a plan. One. Moving forward in Christ. And there is a deep freedom in that kind of simplicity — because when you know the one thing that matters, everything else finally finds its place.

But to move forward, you have to let go.

Forgetting what lies behind — Paul is not in denial. He is not pretending the pain wasn't real, that the failures didn't happen, that the losses didn't cut deep. He is doing something harder than denial: he is releasing intentionally. And here's what we miss — it's not only our failures that hold us back. Our former glories hold us back too. The version of you that worked ten years ago, the season when everything felt clear, the moment you felt like you had finally arrived — all of it can become an anchor if you don't surrender it to the Lord.

And then Paul makes the opposite move. The Greek word translated as straining forward — it pictures a runner throwing his whole body toward the finish line. Not walking. Not jogging. Lunging. Every muscle committed to what is ahead. That is what faith looks like — not a comfortable position, not a passive belief. Faith is always movement. Faith always leans forward.

And toward what? The goal. And the goal is Christ. In the middle of the noise and uncertainty of every ordinary day, there is a compass that never fails: intimacy with Jesus. He is the destination and He is the way. You don't need to see the whole road. You just need to see Him.

And the prize? The prize of the upward call is not a trophy you earn through your own effort. It is a gift from a Father who already called you by name. Before you took a single step, He already chose you. So running is not a heavy obligation — it is the joyful response of a child to a father's love. You run because you are loved, not in order to be loved.

So today, before breakfast, do just one thing. Take a piece of paper and write down one thing from the past — a hurt you are still carrying, a failure that still weighs on you, or an old glory you are still holding onto instead of moving forward. Write it down. Then surrender it to God in prayer. Say it out loud, with faith: "Lord, I release this — and I press on with You today." Don't whisper it. Say it with conviction. Because it is a declaration, not a suggestion. It is the move of a runner who has just leaned into the finish line.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.