The Fighter
25 Aug
Isaiah 41:10
Most of us in our life have experienced the joy of having our own dreams, plans, and hopes. Most of us, also have experienced the disappointment that comes when our dreams, plans, and hopes are shattered, or at the very least, things did not go according to what we had hoped for. What do you do when faced to a situation like that? Do you try to think of a way to fix the situation? Or do you blame God for putting you in a tight spot?
In my previous post, I shared about the truth that there is always something better that God prepared for us. Sometimes we have to change our mindset, sometimes we just need to be patient. But sometimes, we have to fight. The devotional that I am going to share today is concerning on the last bit: the fighting part.
Being a fighter is never easy, especially in this modern world where everything is an instant, where everything can be served right up your nose. I have to admit that I also have dreams, plans, and hopes that did not go according to what I had envisioned. Sometimes things happen out of my hands that can overturn even the very best situation into one of the worst. And it is not easy to keep on fighting to reach the same dream once you have been put into desperation.
But I want to tell you something: do not give up. God wants us to keep on fighting. He wants us to see the very end of the path that we are walking, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am going to share a few things that, I pray, will motivate you to get up and go back to the fighting arena.
- A fighter keeps on fighting until the very end
You have to admit, a lot of us when it comes to fighting and struggling, we tend to just give up and leave all the rest to God at the second time we are hit with the problem, or in our best days, probably three times. I want all of us to take a look at Isaiah 41. This chapter contains many words of encouragement from God to Israel, and in many times God said that He will help them. My particular favorite from this chapter is verse 10.
In verse 10, God specifically said I will strengthen you and help you (NIV). I want to stress the word help in here. If you search and open a dictionary, it will tell you that help means giving aid, assistance. Help is also a word that is frequently used to appeal for urgent assistance. Now this means that, God, even if you have surrendered all your problems to Him, does not want you to just sit back and relax. He wants to help you, not replace you. He wants to work with you, not work for you.
In our times of trouble, it is alright to give ourselves to Him, to surrender and let Him do the rest, but only after we have done our best.
- A fighter sees an obstacle as an opportunity, not a dead end
When you see a multitude of problems that separates you from your goals, what do you think of it? Do you think of it as an opportunity, or just another reason for changing lanes? Do you think of it as something that can help you train better, or a dead end?
In John 6, we see a story where Jesus fed five thousand men (not counting women and children). Most of us knew this story very well. But I want us to take another look at this story. At that time, Jesus was quite famous for His miracles, and as a result, there were many people who followed Him, either hoping to see miracles from Him. Jesus asked His disciples what they should do to give these people who followed Him something to eat.
His disciples answered Him negatively, comparing half a year’s wage to buy bread for those people. But then one of His disciples brought forth with him a boy who had five loafs and two small fishes, and Jesus performed miracle that very day. Jesus sees those five loaves and two small fishes as an opportunity to glorify His Father in heaven, and to strengthen the faith of His disciples, rather than seeing it as impossibility.
- A fighter uses prayer as his weapon to stay strong
I think it is very clear from my posts that I am strongly in favour of praying, and I personally can testify that prayers do bring miracles, and that prayers do have powers. I just want to remind all of us again that it is not the way we pray, but rather to whom we pray that matters. Prayer is about building an intimate relationship with God. I admit, I am still struggling in this area myself, but I have to keep on fighting until I can get past the struggle.
Prayer is built upon faith and hope. As Christians, hope in the Lord, as Hebrews 6:19 says, is the anchor of our soul, firm and secure, as the basis of believing His Word and His promises.
- A fighter fights for his future wins, and not dwell in his past losses
For a lot of us, we cannot seem to let go the past. Sometimes we think if we did something differently then we might be in a better circumstance. Sometimes we think if we chose the right thing, we might not be in a mess that we are currently facing. However, I believe God does not want us to dwell in our past. I believe God wants us not to forget, but to choose not to remember the past mistakes that we have made. And God has made it clear that we should focus instead on our future.
Take for example in the Bible, there is a story of Lot, whose wife turned into a pillar of salt simply because she turned her head back and looked at her city. Now, many have speculated as to why she turned into a pillar of salt, including some seeing it as an act of disobedience towards God. I personally believe it was because she did not want to let go her possessions in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. It signified a longing for the past, something that she wished she could have done.
The apostle Paul specifically said in his letter to the Philippians 3:13-14 that he forgets what lies behind him and straining towards what is ahead, towards the goal that God has set for each and every one of us in Christ Jesus. It is easy to be tempted to look back and wished that we had done things differently, and stuck in our past, but we need to get up and prepare for what lies ahead of us.
Brothers and sisters, I pray that these four points can help you in times of struggle. I know that there are other qualities of a fighter that we can add, but I believe these four are already hard enough to actually apply in our lives. Just remember that whenever we are in a struggle, be it financially, in a relationship, emotionally, or even other aspect in our life, remember that God has plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future. So, brothers and sisters, when the going gets tough, do you get going?
Stay blessed.
PS:
In preparing this devotional, I have visited various devotional websites and I found a very good, in-depth devotional and sharing website. Some of the points here were also taken from this website.
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