Hard times come for each of us.

We have a choice how to interpret those difficulties and we have a choice how to respond.

If we can see God’s love behind, through and in front of the event, we are much more apt to respond in a way that honors Him.

If we can see a purpose in the pain, we can overcome.

We act and speak out of the heart, so we need to get our hearts right.

The role of Jesus’ love in Lazarus’ death hit me recently (John 11:5-6).

When Jesus heard Lazarus was ill, He stayed where He was two more days. He stayed where He was until Lazarus died.

When Jesus arrived, both Martha and Mary told Him they knew if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died.

But Jesus wasn’t there and Lazarus died.

Martha and Mary were plunged into grief.

And why did Jesus not go to them until after Lazarus’ death?

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So … He then stayed two days longer …” (John 11:5-6).

Because Jesus loved them, He deliberately stayed away until after Lazarus had died.

Because Jesus loved them, Lazarus died.

Because Jesus loved them, they saw Jesus bring Lazarus back to life.

Because Jesus loved them, He proved He was the resurrection and the life.

Because Jesus loved them, this hard time came. It was for their sakes.

The purpose of the pain was for the glory of God:

– so that the Son of God may be glorified (v 4)

– so that the disciples might believe (v. 15)

– so that they (the people standing around) may believe that You sent Me (v. 42).

If you are a Christian, there is a God-given “so that” in your pain.There is a purpose in your pain. God’s love is behind your hard time. . Because Jesus loves you, you are going through something. Not in spite of Jesus, but because of Jesus.

You may be in the middle of something hard. Consider why the Lord’s love for you may be behind it.

Think through the benefits of Lazarus’ death. Which of those apply to your situation? What other benefits have you seen? What other benefits seem likely?

Remember that God brings good out of everything for His children (for those who love God and are called according to His purpose). He is conforming us to the image of His Son. (Romans 8:28-29)

Choose to believe God loves you before, during, and after your trial.

Choose to believe God is bringing good out of your tragedy.

Choose to believe this trial is helping you grow.

Where is your heart? Can you reinterpret your hard time to see God’s love in it?

Please share how God revealed Himself to you in one of your hard times.

The secret of life is “One thing. Just one thing … stick to that and everything else don’t mean s—.”

That’s Curly’s advice to Mitch in the movie City Slickers. But Curly told Mitch he had to figure out the one thing himself.

Fortunately, the Bible has a lot to say about the secret of life. For those outside of Christ, the One Thing is to answer correctly Jesus’ question: “Who do you think I am?”

Christians also need to identify and pursue the One Thing in order to grow. Here are some clues:

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Mark 12:30)

“Hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6).”

First. All. Hunger. Thirst.

Consistently.

I certainly don’t meet those, especially consistently. I doubt you think you do.

We have good company though: Paul said he hadn’t arrived either.

Paul said the one thing he did was “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Paul was pressing on to become more like Christ.

Christian growth means we must: Press on. Zealously pursue. Be relentless. Be energetic. Strenuously strive. Strain forward.

Concentrate on becoming more Christlike. Keep Him top of mind.

Short words. Difficult task.

I want pressing on to be more like Christ to be my one thing also. Some days it is.

God is making us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). He uses a lot of different people and circumstances and events as His tools to make us more like Christ. That is His work.

But we cannot be passive in this. We have responsibilities. We have a race to run.

And we cannot do it alone. We need reminders. We need help. We need one another.

Please share what you have learned so we can press on together.

What are your keys to:

Consistently put the Lord first?

Keep on pressing on?

Christian growth?

How can you help others towards Christlikeness?

Are you satisfied where you are in your Christian walk? Me neither.

We have good company: Paul wasn’t satisfied either.

Paul says he forgot what was behind and pressed forward to what was ahead (Philippians 3:14). That is what we need to do also.

This website is dedicated to pressing on: finding hope ahead, forgetting past sins and victories, overcoming barriers, handling trials, learning how. And moving forward together.

My hope is that we can help each other energetically pursue Christlikeness. I hope we can challenge ourselves and each other. I hope we can learn from each other. I hope this site will become a conversation rather than a one-way talk. I don’t want to be on a soapbox; I want to be part of a dedicated group of Christians pressing on.

Let’s go!