– 1 Timothy 1:18-19 NET – 18 I put this charge before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you, in order that with such encouragement you may fight the good fight. 19 To do this you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.
What is it about fighting matches that get us hyped up and entertained? Boxing, MMA, wrestling, hockey, yes hockey, I love hockey. Crazy how violence, I mean sport, will either disgust us or entertain us. Growing up I loved watching martial arts films, still do. I also love watching action films with an inspiring underdog story, I always cheer on the underdog. Action films like a boxer who went from being a nobody and then rises to the top in the ring and in life. Or a movie about a kid who was bullied but learns to fight back and eventually become a champion and gains respect. Watching champions on the big screen makes us feel good, it’s like watching good vs evil. But the thing I notice the most about underdog stories is that it is not about how they overcame a bully, or how they won a fight. Of course, the action is great, but the most inspiring thing that stands out to me the most is how the underdog overcomes their own personal struggles and battles in life. Winning a trophy, a belt or prize money does not make a fighter successful, because all of that can easily be taken away. Reality is after the fight, fame, prizes, and money, there is still a battle that rages on.
Growing up I was never a fighter, well not in the physical sense. I do not like to fight. But I was bullied as a kid till later on in high school. So I had to do what I could to defend myself. I had learned though that you can defend yourself without throwing a punch. It is true that using your words and ignoring a bully are effective methods of defending yourself. Also helps to find friends who watch your back and are willing to fight for you, but unfortunately that’s a rarity today in this world. Being skinny my whole life I was not physically capable of defending myself when I was younger. By high school I had learned how to fight back by humiliating bullies through words and action. I would take bruises from their punches but then I would bruise their ego. I guess you can say that my strength was in sarcasm ha-ha. Regardless of fighting methods whether physical or verbal, people still get hurt.
Since I became a Christian, I had to find other methods of how to fight back against bullies. I have zero tolerance for injustice of any kind, I do not like bullying. Prayer is an effective method of fighting back, God is there to fight our battles. And using words and actions of kindness can diffuse a bully and tear down walls. And since I am human, yes, I do get mad, I do raise my voice when I am upset. The difference is now I no longer retaliate or get revenge like I did when I was in the world. And as Christians, there is a spiritual battle going on too, but thankfully we have scriptures that teach us how to endure or persevere through spiritual battles. You noticed that I did not say “how to fight” or “how to win”, spiritual battles. Yes, I get it, there is fighting involved, but how often do we try to fight the wrong way? The fight belongs to God and He has already won the victory! So why do we wear ourselves out trying to fight a spiritual battle in our own strength? God is fighting for us, and He protects us. Of course, we will take hits in the battle, which is a given and I will expound on that in another blog post, but we do not have to grow weary in battle when we give the battle to God!
This past year has been a hard spiritual battle for me, maybe the hardest I have had to endure. I am not a glutton for punishment, but thankfully I did learn valuable lessons during this battle. I learned lot about myself, about people, and about God. For time’s sake since not everyone loves to read a long blog post, I will be taking the subject of spiritual battles through a series of blog posts over the next month or two. I guess consider this post to be the introduction.
In closing to my long introduction, I want to say that at my age I have gotten to a point in life where I no longer have the strength to fight. But I will say that I can still take a hit, I have had plenty of practice being a punching bag over the years so yeah, take your best shot! And you cannot knock me out, no matter how hard you try! OK so I will admit, that I am naturally clumsy so I might fall down tripping over my shoelace, but you cannot keep me down, I will get back up! I may not have the strength to fight, but it is not my fight anyway, it never was my fight, the battle belongs to God! It was never my fight to begin with. I may still be healing, and the battle is far from over, but I finally had to give the battle back to God, to fight in His strength, not in my own strength.
Just like Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1-8, have you fought the good fight? We still have a race to run. But it is time to remove the gloves, your gloves. Putting on the full armor of God according to Ephesians 6:10-20, does not mention wearing gloves anyway. God is in your corner, and He is ready to fight for you! No matter how hard the battle is, keep enduring, keep persevering! Do not throw in the towel! It’s not over till God says it’s over!
2 Timothy 4:1-8 NKJV – 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
