“For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having any righteousness of my own derived from the Law and its rituals, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. And this, so that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed to His death, so that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.” Philippians 3:8-12

Paul considered himself the Jew of all Jews and was “blameless in keeping the law.” He was well educated and had climbed the ladder of success as a Pharisee until he was revered and honored by all the leaders of the Jews. His persecution of the Church was his passion and he did it with great zeal. 

Yet, after his experience with The Lord on the road to Damascus, we see in his letter to the Philippians, that he considers his accomplishments as garbage compared to his desire to “know Christ Jesus”. When we experience The Lord, we gain a deep desire to know Him more. If we would like to experience The Lord, we only need to make time for Him in prayer and tell The Lord what is on our hearts. Remember, in the Lord’s presence is fullness of joy, so you have only a life-changing meeting to look forward to and nothing to fear. 

Paul changed from zealously killing followers of Jesus to wanting to know Him and the power of His resurrection - and the fellowship of His sufferings. Jesus desires to change us in this way, too, but these life-altering, motive-shifting changes occur by experiencing the Lord. Paul wanted to be conformed by Jesus’ death and die to His sinful desires every day. He was willing to suffer whatever consequences those actions brought. Paul was willing to be stoned, imprisoned, cursed, and left for dead, if it meant sharing that Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah.

If we aren’t continually being molded into Christ’s image and likeness, we will decline in our faith. Nothing maintains the status quo – every living thing is in a state of change. We’re either growing in our relationship with The Lord or declining in our faith. Paul said he “constantly pressed on to obtain that which Jesus took hold of him.” Are you pressing? Are you asking The Lord for an experience with Him? Is your prayer life growing more meaningful or more boring? I want to encourage you to press and ask The Lord for more of who He is so you can become more like He would like you to be. When you press to gain ground in your relationship with The Lord, you will fulfill your purpose and destiny at a higher level.

“…but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.” Philippians 3:8-12