Jesus First: Seven Practices to Put Your Life Back in OrderНамуна

Day 6: The Practice of Pressing On

Whether you hike mountains, run businesses, create content, write essays, or train for sports, you’ll be familiar with this feeling: the desire to quit. How do I know this? Because that’s real life. Anything worth doing is laced with discouraging setbacks, fatigue, and resistance. It’s part of the process. How we react to these inevitable moments, though, is what makes the difference. Do we give up when the thrill fades – or press on?

If we stopped every time the road got hard, no symphony would be finished, no summit reached, and no legacy built. Why? Because anything worthwhile demands perseverance.

Yet perseverance is fading in our culture. We chase quick wins, skip the hard parts, and pivot the moment things get uncomfortable. AI can write the essay. Dinner’s ready in 90 seconds. We swipe away relationships and walk out of jobs when conflict comes. Sometimes, walking out or starting over is wise. But often, the easy way simply keeps us from going deep. Staying power is where real formation happens.

The same is true in our walk with Christ. If we expect smooth sailing, we’ve misunderstood the call. Jesus doesn’t pull us out of the brokenness – He sends us headlong into it, to bring His light into the darkest places. This means we will face suffering, wrestle with sin, and see injustice close up. Paul knew this terrain well. And what did he say? Not “turn back”, but “press on”. Put Jesus first, more than you ever have: “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.” (NIV verses 13-14).

To press on is to pray again when your spirit feels dry. It’s to ask for help, instead of running away. It’s to keep choosing holiness when the world around you has stopped caring. One step at a time.

Because when Jesus is first, everything else finds its place. The past loses its grip. Distractions fade. The finish line comes into focus.

Eugene Peterson called this kind of discipleship “a long obedience in the same direction”. That’s the practice of pressing on – choosing Jesus today, and again tomorrow, even when the road is rough.

Practice Prompt: Where in your faith have you grown weary, apathetic, or drifted off course? Where is Jesus no longer first? Today, intentionally realign. Ask the Holy Spirit for strength to keep going. Then take one deliberate step: get back to prayer, pick up the Word, reconnect with your church community, or grab a coffee with someone and confess what’s weighing you down. Forget what’s behind. Fix your eyes ahead. Jesus is worth it. Press on.

Prayer: Jesus, where my life is hard and I feel like giving up, remind me today that you are worth it. Strengthen me to press on, not in my own effort, but in your grace. Fix my eyes on you and help me to follow you, one step at a time, as I continue my long obedience in the same direction. Amen.