March 1st, 2026
Sunday, March 1
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 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 3:7-14
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 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 3:7-14
Our culture is a restless culture of more, more, more. We can even “Christianize” it. More church. More ministry output. Busy for God. Oftentimes, our “spiritualized” striving is the most exhausting. Somehow we’ve indoctrinated into popular Christian culture that God needs us to do more for him, to build his kingdom, to be busy trying, trying, trying to live up to some spiritual ideal. More Bible studies, more quiet time, more prayer, more…I’m exhausted.
Just breathe. God doesn’t need your constant striving. Just live the life God has given you to live. He doesn’t command more. He commands rest. We need to learn this. The message of the gospel does not depend on our performance or accolades or how awesome Sunday morning worship or the sermon is.
The Apostle Paul was the king of spiritual striving. Some people will make a distinction that what Paul was chasing was “religious” striving, as opposed to “spiritual” striving. Paul made no such distinction. It was all striving related to God.
The 4th century African pastor and theologian Augustine famously said, “You, God, have made us for yourselves, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in you.”
The Apostle Paul knew this. Because of Christ, he realized that the striving, even after things of God, was missing the point. All of his striving, it turned out, was misguided. His human hands were not capable of grasping what would give life. He needed to be grasped. When he found that the Lord had grasped hold of him, the striving ceased. Rest was found because he was found.
This is not to say that pursuing good things or putting your best into your work is a bad thing. Spiritual disciplines are good. But they are not striving. They are making space in our lives to find rest, not do things for God or for our “growth.” If these things are what we’re looking to for a sense of “righteousness” – that our “success” in them gives us some sort of leg up, or somehow we can work our way into deeper spirituality, then we’ve wandered into restless wandering, looking for God in all the wrong places.
God invites us to find rest. Even rest from trying to achieve. All those things won't fill the emptiness that is meant for God. Even if they make us feel good about ourselves.
Just breathe. God doesn’t need your constant striving. Just live the life God has given you to live. He doesn’t command more. He commands rest. We need to learn this. The message of the gospel does not depend on our performance or accolades or how awesome Sunday morning worship or the sermon is.
The Apostle Paul was the king of spiritual striving. Some people will make a distinction that what Paul was chasing was “religious” striving, as opposed to “spiritual” striving. Paul made no such distinction. It was all striving related to God.
The 4th century African pastor and theologian Augustine famously said, “You, God, have made us for yourselves, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in you.”
The Apostle Paul knew this. Because of Christ, he realized that the striving, even after things of God, was missing the point. All of his striving, it turned out, was misguided. His human hands were not capable of grasping what would give life. He needed to be grasped. When he found that the Lord had grasped hold of him, the striving ceased. Rest was found because he was found.
This is not to say that pursuing good things or putting your best into your work is a bad thing. Spiritual disciplines are good. But they are not striving. They are making space in our lives to find rest, not do things for God or for our “growth.” If these things are what we’re looking to for a sense of “righteousness” – that our “success” in them gives us some sort of leg up, or somehow we can work our way into deeper spirituality, then we’ve wandered into restless wandering, looking for God in all the wrong places.
God invites us to find rest. Even rest from trying to achieve. All those things won't fill the emptiness that is meant for God. Even if they make us feel good about ourselves.
For reflection:
Prayer:
Lord, you are the God of life and hope. You exist not to stop death, but bring life out of death. May we be bold enough to entrust our lives to you, to let our selves die so that you might be alive in us. Amen
- Read Philippians 3.
- Can you, like Paul in Philippians 3, name the things you’ve strived for that are “garbage”? This might be very difficult. It probably was for Paul, too. Imagine seeing all of your successes as "garbage" in relation to being known by Christ. And imagine actually living according to that truth. Why is pursuing significance according to standards of “success” so important? Why do you think it’s not that important to God?
- For those with kids: Talk about how when we try to do too much or try to hard to make ourselves look good or important, we lose perspective on what matters. Jesus calls us only to love God and love others, and usually in small unnoticed ways. How can they do this everyday?
Prayer:
Lord, you are the God of life and hope. You exist not to stop death, but bring life out of death. May we be bold enough to entrust our lives to you, to let our selves die so that you might be alive in us. Amen
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