Faith Food - Daily Devotions

 
Seven Principles for Spiritual Growth - Step I 

Philippians 3:13-14 

Seven Fundamental Principles for Spiritual Growth – Step I: Learn to forget the past.

Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, FORGETTING THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE BEHIND, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

To grow spiritually, we must apply the things Paul suggests in these verses. Notice, Paul doesn’t believe he has “arrived” yet. He says he is still pressing toward the mark. The person who thinks he or she has arrived and knows it all will never grow spiritually. Nobody knows it all! Actually, the more we grow in the Lord and learn about Him, the more we realize how little we know.

Before we can press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, we must take the first step of spiritual development by “...forgetting those things which are behind.” You and I will never be successful in our walk with the Lord unless our “forgetter” is in good working order.

We must forget even the blessings of God that are behind, because if you live on past blessings, you are living on stale manna. If you’re satisfied with what happened in the past, you are not reaching toward the future blessings God has in store for you.

Smith Wigglesworth said, “I am satisfied only with the dissatisfaction that has to be satisfied again and again.” Dr. Wigglesworth was saying that no matter what blessings of God he had known or what spiritual plateau he had attained, he was still dissatisfied. He always wanted more of God.

In our next lesson, we will cover step number two: Learning to Forgive