That means we stretch forward to the things in front of us. We bear down on the goal.

Paul was so intensely focused on pursuing the prize of his call in Christ that he would not allow himself to look anywhere but toward the goal. He ran, “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before…” (Philippians 3:13).

Paul never stopped stretching. When he was imprisoned, he wrote most of the New Testament. How was he able to do this? Look at Acts 20:22-24:

And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the
grace of God.

Paul could stretch toward the goal without distraction because he didn’t count his life dear to himself. He had found something worth giving his life for. One day while I was reading this scripture the Lord impressed me, Gloria, this is the key to your success spiritually. If you count your life dear unto yourself, you won’t finish your race.

Counting your life dear to yourself means that you’ve let the distractions of the age get hold of you. You concentrate on what you want and what you want to do—your happiness.

Jesus said if we would lose our lives for His sake, we would find them. That’s life worth living. There’s no peace in living like the world and going after things. But seek Him first and His righteousness, and all the other things will come to you.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries