We watched a pretty amazing game of football today. At the last quarter, scores were level, and then the opposition team pulled ahead. Another point and our team just needed to score. With just seconds to go it looked like we were going to lose until a snap goal in the last seconds saw us win the game.
Our lounge room erupted as we celebrated the win. It just goes to show it’s not over til it’s over, and it pays to not give up.
Life can have moments just like that, where we just need to hold on, to not give up, to keep the pressure on and keep believing and pressing into God. So often in our walk of faith we can give up, when we needed to let faith and patience go to work so that we would inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12). But too often we do give up, we stop asking, we are swayed by the natural things in front of us, and we let go of the promises of God for our lives. That’s understandable because we get tired and discouraged, the people who seem to do all the wrong things get all the breaks, the system chews up and spits out people at will. We feel annoyed, powerless and discouraged.
It’s important to note that any football game is not just won on game day, but by all the preparation, hard work, training and practice done throughout the week. The fitness, muscles and skill are not built on the day, but in the months and years of training. We also won’t experience the victory in this “game of life”, in our walk of faith, unless we build our spiritual strength, our faith muscles, our knowledge of God’s Word and how to use it, and in the understanding of who we are, and who our God is.
We won’t “win” unless we know who our opponent is, and learn how to resist his plans and schemes.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. “(James 4:7)
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
When we find ourselves in a fight, and we feel like quitting that’s when we need to hold on, and press into the hope and strength that we have built. That’s when all the times we have spent reading God’s word, have prayed, have got together with others who believed, have been encouraged by a message, have praised and worshipped, have stepped out and obeyed God and trusted Him, have stretched and strengthened our faith, that’s when it all comes into play. That’s when we put all our training and effort to good use and fight the good fight of faith and win!
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Timothy 6:12)
So stay in the fight of faith! Be aware you may lose a quarter or two. The devil may take you by surprise, but just because you may lose some ground doesn’t mean you’ve lost the whole fight. You may come away with a black eye, or feel like you have been tackled to the ground so to speak, until you learn how to stand on the Word for your victory. But just because the devil gets in a couple of good hits doesn’t mean he’s won the whole game, because the game’s not over yet!
If we’re going to whip the devil in every circumstance of our life, we must have the attitude of “I refuse to quit, and the devil will not defeat me or take anything that legally belongs to me ever again!” We have to determine just like that football game today that we will not give up, we will not surrender, we will be on the offensive, and we will make the devil and his cohorts sorry they ever stepped onto our turf!
“Because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.“(1 John 4:4)
Make up your mind today that you are a winner, and that means you never quit.
“So that you may not become half-hearted, but be imitators of those who through faith and patient endurance are now heirs to the promises.”(Hebrews 6:12)
Prayer: Lord please give me strength to keep in the fight and to never quit. Help me to see who my real enemy is, and to not be fooled by what I see with my natural eyes. I put my trust in you, in the power of your Word and the victory I have in you. In Jesus Name Amen.
Commentaires