Press On

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Philippians 3:12 NKJV

My feet were barking at me and I wasn’t sure how much farther we must go, but I knew I had to press on. I was in the last week of basic training at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, and my company was on a seventeen-mile road march. It was the last thing we had to do in basic training; then we would graduate and be soldiers. I had all my combat gear on, a rucksack with about sixty pounds of gear stuffed in it, a helmet and rifle. All of that weighed about seventy pounds. We had a few M60 machine guns and would rotate who carried it. When it was your turn, you would carry it for a few miles and it weighed about twenty-three pounds. It felt like about fifty after a mile or two.

We started the march at 2000 (8pm) and it was now 0300 (3am). So, yeah, after seven hours of marching up and down the hills of Ft. McClellan, my feet were protesting. Every muscle I knew I had and a few I didn’t know I had agreed with my feet. Now, there are hills and then there are hills. Ft. McClellan had a hill known as Baby Baines. It wasn’t very high, but it had a steep incline and it was difficult to march up it with no equipment, let alone all the gear we had. I think we went up and down every hill there.

We didn’t go through the woods, but followed the roads and marched tactically. That meant half the company was on one side of the road and the other half was on the other side of the road and spread out about fifteen feet from each other. We didn’t just march; we got ambushed and harassed along the way. We would have to respond to the ambushes or stop to assess something our point man saw up ahead. It was a hard slog and my feet, muscles, and mind were begging me to stop. The only positive aspect of this whole masochistic exercise was it was May, and it was warm and hadn’t rained on us. 

Thanks to the training I had received in the previous seven weeks, I knew I could keep going. I had learned my mind would tell me I was done long before I really was. My mind was saying there was no way I could keep going, but I would keep going and finish the run or whatever else we were doing. I learned to stop listening to my mind and I could do more than I thought. 

Sometimes my walk with God can feel like that road march. It feels like I’m going through a dark time. I’m carrying the weight of my sins, past mistakes, regrets, worries and fears. I’m ambushed and harassed all the time by the devil, and it feels like there’s no end in sight.

But, unlike that road march in basic training where I had to carry my weight, Jesus said His yolk is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:30) I may not know where God is leading or how much farther it is, but I can cast all my cares, worries, fears and burdens on Him. I can press on because it’s not by my might or power but by His and I can endure all things through Him. Just like I ignore my mind in basic training, I ignore my doubts and fears because I gave them to Him and keep pressing on.

So, there I was at 0300 with my mind and body screaming at me to stop, lay down, and go to sleep, but I pressed on. Of course, the drill sergeants were lurking to pounce on anyone who did that. I had some motivation to keep going, but I also knew I could keep going despite what my mind was telling me. I knew my mind and body would protest way before I reached my limit. 

We finished the march right as the sun was breaking over the horizon. I think that’s an excellent metaphor for following God, even though we don’t know where He’s leading us. We keep going despite our doubts and fears, and there will be a sunrise. We will see the light of day. 

Will you press on?