Wired to Win: Forget What's Behind. Press On. Finish Well.

This is Part 3, the final part of a three-part series. Part 1, Rooted in God: The Tree That Never Runs Dry, was about what's underneath you. Part 2, Nobody Sees the Foundation. That's Exactly Why It Holds., was about what you build on top of it. This one is about where you're going.

Let me ask you something.

If you knew you couldn't lose, what would you start running toward this week?

Most of us don't stop running because we're tired. We stop because we're stuck. Stuck on a mistake we can't let go of. Stuck on a win from ten years ago. Stuck trying to run five races at once, and finishing none of them.

Here's what I want you to hear: you were not made to stand still. You were wired to win. Not to beat everyone around you. To finish the race God put in front of you.

Where We've Been

This series started at Elk Point United Parish in South Dakota, and I want to thank that church family for welcoming me these three Sundays.

Week 1: Rooted. We looked at Jeremiah's two trees (Jeremiah 17:7-8). A dry bush in the desert and a tree planted by the water. Same sun. Same heat. Different roots. What you lean on decides what holds you up. Read Part 1 · Watch the October 4 message

Week 2: Built. We looked at Jesus' two builders (Matthew 7:24-27). Both heard the same words. Both faced the same storm. Only one house stood, because only one builder did what he heard. Nobody sees the foundation. That's exactly why it holds. Read Part 2 · Watch the October 4 message

Week 3: Wired. Roots hold you. Structure carries you. But a tree is meant to bear fruit, and a house is meant to be lived in. You were made to move. That's this post.

Our text is Paul's letter to the Philippians. He wrote it from prison. He had every reason to look back, sit down, and call it a career. Instead, he wrote this:

"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 3:12-14)

Four ideas live inside those three verses.

1. Own Your "Not Yet"

Paul is one of the greatest leaders in history. And he opens with: "Not that I have already arrived."

That's not weakness. That's the starting line. You can't move forward from a place you won't admit you're standing in.

I see this in engineering all the time. The system that gets better is the one where someone writes down honestly what broke. The team that pretends everything is fine never improves. Growth starts with an honest status report.

And notice the second half of verse 12: "…that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." You're not chasing God's approval. He already took hold of you. You run from acceptance, not for it.

What Scripture says:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on…" (Philippians 3:12) "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

"Not yet" is not "never." It's "keep going."

2. Let Go of What's Behind

"Forgetting what is behind." Paul had a lot behind him. Some of it he was ashamed of: he once persecuted the church. Some of it he could have bragged about: his education, his family line, his record (Philippians 3:4-6). He let go of both.

That's the part most of us miss. We know we need to let go of our failures. But old wins can hold us back too. "That's how we've always done it." "I used to be good at this." Yesterday's trophy can become today's anchor.

Think about driving. Your windshield is big. Your rearview mirror is small. You glance back to learn. You look forward to live. If you stare in the mirror, you'll crash.

Remember the ant from last week? It doesn't sit around remembering last summer's harvest. It works on the next one.

What Scripture says:

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…" (Philippians 3:13) "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19) "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)

Forgetting doesn't mean pretending it didn't happen. It means it no longer gets to steer.

3. Run With One Thing

"But one thing I do." Not ten things. One.

In You Were Wired to Win, I wrote that your attention isn't passive. It's participatory. Your brain filters millions of signals every second and lets through what you've told it matters. Whatever you keep looking at, you start moving toward.

That's why focus is a spiritual issue. A runner who looks at the crowd, the clouds, and the runner next to her slows down. A runner who fixes her eyes on the finish line speeds up.

In Part 2 we talked about building systems, not moods. Here's where it pays off. Your system is how you protect your "one thing":

• Name the win before the noise does. Before you touch your phone, name the one thing that matters today.
• Watch what you're watching. At midday, ask: what has my attention been on? Complaint, comparison, and doubt are not your finish line.
• Repeat until it's identity, not effort. Faith → Identity → Action → Repetition. Do it long enough and it stops being a goal. It becomes who you are.

What Scripture says:

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2) "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) "Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you." (Proverbs 4:25)

Notice: the race is "marked out for us." You don't have to run someone else's.

4. Finish Well

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward."

Here's what "wired to win" really means. The prize isn't a title, a paycheck, or applause. It's the upward call: becoming who God made you to be, and finishing what He gave you to do.

You were designed for this. Ephesians says you are God's handiwork, prepared in advance for good works. That's what I mean by "wired." The win was in the design before you ever ran a step.

Starting is exciting. Finishing is rare. Most races are lost in the middle miles, when the crowd thins out and nobody's cheering. That's where roots and foundations come back in. The quiet roots from Week 1 and the quiet bricks from Week 2 are what carry you through the quiet miles of Week 3.

What Scripture says:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7) "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10) "Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

Paul didn't say "I won every race." He said "I finished." That's the win.

Four Things to Take With You

1. Own your "not yet." Honest about where you are, confident about who holds you. (Philippians 3:12)
2. Let go of what's behind. Failures and old wins both. Glance back to learn, look forward to live. (Philippians 3:13)
3. Run with one thing. What you keep looking at, you move toward. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
4. Finish well. The prize is the upward call, and you were designed for it. (Philippians 3:14)

The Whole Blueprint: Rooted, Built, Wired

Put the three weeks together and you get one life:

Roots hold you. Structure carries you. Purpose moves you.

Without roots, you dry up. Without structure, you collapse. Without direction, you go in circles. You need all three. And none of them depend on how you feel this morning.

If you want the short version of the framework, it's in Rooted, Built, Wired: What It Actually Means to Be a Builder.

Your Seven-Day "One Thing" Challenge

Take one minute right now and ask yourself:

• What am I still carrying from behind?
• What is my "one thing" for this season?
• What would finishing well look like this week?

Then, for the next seven days, write down your one thing every morning before you touch your phone. Not perfectly. Faithfully.

Watch the Series

All three messages were preached at Elk Point United Parish. You can watch them on the church's YouTube channel or Facebook page. If you're near Elk Point, South Dakota, worship is Sundays at 10:00 a.m.

Send this to one person who feels stuck right now. They don't need a lecture. They need to hear that their "not yet" isn't the end of the story.

You were rooted to stand. Built to last. And wired to win.

Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV).

I'm Emmanuel. I'm an engineer, a pastor, a mentor, and a father. More at the blog, or reach out directly.