There\u2019s a quote attributed to Maya Angelou that comforts my inner critic: \u201cI did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.\u201d I\u2019m not sure if these are actual words written by Angelou or if it\u2019s one of those quotes that has been passed around so much on Instagram nobody knows the true source. But wherever it comes from, I like it. Something in it resonates with me, an echo of much-needed grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d like to think this is a message someone in the church at Phillippi needed to hear when Paul\u2019s letter came to town. In Philippians, Paul wasn\u2019t writing to correct an issue or fight a dangerous teaching. Instead, he sent an extended thank-you letter, a note of encouragement, and a rally to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Metaphors about running races and winning prizes aren\u2019t all that unusual in Paul\u2019s writing, but if we look a bit more closely, we\u2019ll find the words of a gentle, loving coach here. His letter to the Philippians includes a heartfelt thank you for their support and the reminder that there is still so much work to do for the kingdom (Philippians 1:21\u201324). He pointed to Jesus\u2019s obedience unto literal death as the ultimate example of humility (Philippians 2:8), a stark contradiction to his own list of credentials for \u201cconfidence in the flesh,\u201d which is enough to make any zealous striver or recovering perfectionist wither. It\u2019s also a false confidence Paul then recognized as utterly empty (Philippians 3:4\u20136). His priorities had changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, there is work. There is effort. There is a goal to pursue, a race to run, a job to do (vv.12\u201313). But look for the grace between the words: there is no striving in his words. Paul called this way of thinking a mark of maturity\u2014the realization that all we need is God. This is not the anxious striving to appease an angry Father. This is not fearfully walking on eggshells. Instead, Paul appealed to his readers\u2019 identity as \u201ccitizens of heaven\u201d and encouraged them to \u201clive up to whatever truth we have [already] attained\u201d (Philippians 1:27, 3:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so, there is a tension: to work hard for God\u2019s purposes but trust that Christ has taken hold of us. To embrace our identity as kingdom citizens, while knowing we won\u2019t live this life perfectly, nor could we ever earn our way back into a right relationship with God. To be content where we are while seeking to grow, and trusting that when the time is right, the Holy Spirit will reveal truth and nudge us in the direction that will lead us to look more like Jesus. \u201cForgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,\u201d we learn to pursue the ultimate prize: Christ Jesus Himself (vv.13\u201314).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We grow. We learn. We know better. We do better. Until the day we step into the kingdom and the breeze on our faces feels like home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s a quote attributed to Maya Angelou that comforts my inner critic: \u201cI did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.\u201d I\u2019m not sure if these are actual words written by Angelou or if it\u2019s one of those quotes that has been passed around so much on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":71280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[289],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philippiansandcolossians"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"related_plans":[71272],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"REACHING FORWARD TO GOD\u2019S GOAL<\/b>
\r\nby Jen Yokel<\/i>
\r\n
There\u2019s a quote attributed to Maya Angelou that comforts my inner critic: \u201cI did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.\u201d I\u2019m not sure if these are actual words written by Angelou or if it\u2019s one of those quotes that has been passed around so much on Instagram nobody knows the true source. But wherever it comes from, I like it. Something in it resonates with me, an echo of much-needed grace.<\/p>
\r\n
I\u2019d like to think this is a message someone in the church at Phillippi needed to hear when Paul\u2019s letter came to town. In Philippians, Paul wasn\u2019t writing to correct an issue or fight a dangerous teaching. Instead, he sent an extended thank-you letter, a note of encouragement, and a rally to keep going.<\/p>
\r\n
Metaphors about running races and winning prizes aren\u2019t all that unusual in Paul\u2019s writing, but if we look a bit more closely, we\u2019ll find the words of a gentle, loving coach here. His letter to the Philippians includes a heartfelt thank you for their support and the reminder that there is still so much work to do for the kingdom (Philippians 1:21\u201324). He pointed to Jesus\u2019s obedience unto literal death as the ultimate example of humility (Philippians 2:8), a stark contradiction to his own list of credentials for \u201cconfidence in the flesh,\u201d which is enough to make any zealous striver or recovering perfectionist wither. It\u2019s also a false confidence Paul then recognized as utterly empty (Philippians 3:4\u20136). His priorities had changed.<\/p>
\r\n
Yes, there is work. There is effort. There is a goal to pursue, a race to run, a job to do (vv.12\u201313). But look for the grace between the words: there is no striving in his words. Paul called this way of thinking a mark of maturity\u2014the realization that all we need is God. This is not the anxious striving to appease an angry Father. This is not fearfully walking on eggshells. Instead, Paul appealed to his readers\u2019 identity as \u201ccitizens of heaven\u201d and encouraged them to \u201clive up to whatever truth we have [already] attained\u201d (Philippians 1:27, 3:16).<\/p>
\r\n
And so, there is a tension: to work hard for God\u2019s purposes but trust that Christ has taken hold of us. To embrace our identity as kingdom citizens, while knowing we won\u2019t live this life perfectly, nor could we ever earn our way back into a right relationship with God. To be content where we are while seeking to grow, and trusting that when the time is right, the Holy Spirit will reveal truth and nudge us in the direction that will lead us to look more like Jesus. \u201cForgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,\u201d we learn to pursue the ultimate prize: Christ Jesus Himself (vv.13\u201314).<\/p>
\r\n
We grow. We learn. We know better. We do better. Until the day we step into the kingdom and the breeze on our faces feels like home.<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"9","scripture":"Philippians 3:12-16, Isaiah 40:27-31, Romans 8:28-30, 1 Corinthians 9:19-27","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}