Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12
I have only had a couple of fisty-cuff fights in my life, when I was no older than thirteen. The first occurred when I stood up for my friend as she was being picked on by a bully, and I barged into the middle of it. The second occurred when the bully’s friend arranged a revenge. Would either of these be classified as a good fight?
The apostle Paul had more than his fair share of trouble, and his body received a good few beatings, but did he retreat from the fight? Yes and no. He moved on physically and continued to fight spiritually. His body may have been broken at times but his spirit never was, and that is the key to the Christian fight.
Christ is the author and finisher of our faith, and with Him as our Captain, we can face every earthly fight with confidence. He has stood beside us from the beginning and He will be there until the end. He fought the ultimate battle and won, so during those times when we feel like giving up;
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. Hebrews 12:3
Christ has been there before us and He knows exactly what we are facing. When we put our full trust in Him, He gives us the strength we need to overcome the enemy, in whichever guise he comes in.
The good news is that we don’t just live in the valley and the trenches. There are wonderful times that come after a battle, when the Lord takes us to the green pasture for rest and leads us to the river for refreshing. During those times of restoration and reflection we realise that the battles we fight are only temporary. That is why Paul urges Timothy to ‘take hold of the eternal life to which you were called’. When we remember that our hope lies in what is yet to come, we won’t let what is temporal weigh us down.
When this earthly battle comes to an end, may we say with Paul, ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
I pray that you would know the protection of the Father today and that your strength would be renewed for whatever you may be facing.
Narrow Path Ministries 