I Won’t Stop Short

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. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Philippians 3:10-15

Paul was writing to the church in Philippi to encourage them not to stop short, but to press on. Why? Because there is more.

The most dangerous place to stop in a race isn’t at the start or the middle—it’s when you’re close enough to taste the victory, but weary enough to think you’ve already done enough.

Paul was nearing the end of his ministry, and if anyone could have claimed he had done enough, it was him. But he pressed on. Why?

Because as long as there was breath in his lungs, there was still more of God to pursue.

The question we should be asking ourselves is this: Am I living like I want more of Jesus, or am I living like I’ve already crossed the finish line?

Here are three things to help us press on:

1. Pressing on requires hunger.

Growth demands hunger. We cannot press on toward God if we are not hungry for God. Hunger fuels the race of life.

Read Psalm 42:1. Just as the deer desperately needs water, our souls should desperately long for God.

In this Psalm, David says that his soul was made for God. It’s not about squeezing Him into our schedules—it’s about realizing that without Him, we cannot make it.

We lose hunger when we settle for a God we can explain instead of the God we can never exhaust.

A.W. Tozer once wrote, “To have found God and still pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.”

A love that stops pursuing begins to die. A faith that stops hungering begins to fade.

Practically, this means prioritizing prayer, showing up in worship with full hearts, and refusing to go through the motions. Casual worship produces casual Christianity. But hungry worship produces holy fire.

This hunger isn’t limited to one generation. It’s not about age—it’s about posture.

2. Pressing on means pushing through resistance.

Hunger will always meet resistance.

We’ve all faced it before, and we will face it again. The moves of God rarely come without it.

• Moses and the Israelites didn’t see the Red Sea part until they stepped into it.

• Nehemiah kept building despite ridicule.

• Joseph endured the pit and the prison before reaching the palace.

• Elijah stood firm against 450 prophets of Baal until the rain and fire fell.

• Esther faced resistance from the king before deliverance came.

We will all experience resistance. Maybe yours isn’t a Red Sea, but distractions, doubts, delays, or disappointments.

But resistance isn’t a sign you’ve missed God—it’s a sign you’re in the right place. It’s an invitation to lean on His strength instead of your own.

3. Pressing on leads to the prize.

Paul wasn’t chasing a medal or a trophy. His eyes were on a prize that never fades—the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8).

The prize isn’t something God gives you; the prize is God Himself.

No matter how long you’ve been following Jesus, there is still more of Him to know.

A runner leans forward, lungs burning, eyes locked on the finish line. You don’t drift into the prize—you press on into it.

A move of God dies in the heart the moment we think we’ve seen enough of Him.

In heaven, worship isn’t casual—it’s constant. It isn’t half-hearted—it’s holy.

So let’s press on and worship Jesus as if we were standing in His throne room right now.

This call to press on isn’t just motivation—it’s the foundation we live on. And it’s deeply personal.