Sep 1, 2020
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14
My mentor taught a lesson many years ago on being resolute (determined, unwavering, admirably purposeful). She told the story of the expedition of HMS Resolute, a ship commissioned by Queen Victoria in the 1850’s, in search of the Northwest Passage. The ship became trapped in the ice and was abandoned by its crew. More than a year later, when the ice melted, the Resolute, intact, drifted away and was found by an American whaler about 1,200 miles from where it had been stuck. In a courteous gesture, the US government restored the ship and sailed it back to England and returned it to the Queen. Many years later, when the Resolute was no longer in commission, the Queen ordered the timbers to be made into desks and presented one to the President of the United States as a token of Britain’s gratitude. To this day, the Resolute desk is in the Oval Office of the White House.
Are you resolute in your faith and in your life’s purpose? Are you pressing on toward the goal of living more like Christ? Just as the Resolute was restored in order to remain in service, allow God to work in and through you so that you can be of service to others for His glory! And just as the ship was later broken up and its parts repurposed to be made into desks, God may be using your brokenness to lead you to do something way different than what you thought your purpose was.
Heavenly Father, help us to forget what is in the past and make it our goal to follow the call of Christ Jesus. Amen!
Nancy Gerardo