The Good Fight
Fight the good fight of faith by training your mind and heart to stay faithful through the hard times by fixing your eyes on the cross.
“Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land...Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.”
Joshua 8:1, 18, 30, 32, 34-35
Before Joshua ever takes a step towards the battle, he spends time listening to God speak. Do you know that before you face each day, you were designed to fill your cup? How often have we journeyed into a jarring day without the joy of the Lord as our strength? God delights in you and in helping you. He wants to be known by you and know that He knows what you need. He wants you to move from a place of assurance and strength, not anxiety and doubt. Have you spent time receiving the strength that God has for you? God says do not be afraid, be strong and courageous. Will you hear His voice speaking directly to you today?
After receiving instruction and encouragement, Joshua sees the plans of the Lord unfold. He walked in victory by believing what God said was true. God gave them victory and the response can inform how we steward the gifts of God in our every day lives. Mark Batterson says that anything we don't turn to praise turns to pride. Can you see how Joshua did not puff up his chest, but put God on the pedestal? Joshua took the time to give thanks and stay true so that the victory would not be a one and done. Joshua wanted to win the war on fear and receive the promise that God had for him. How do we do this? The same way he did. We read the word, share it with those around us, and take time to give thanks in community. Is this your process when you see an answered prayer?
“Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king. I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.”
Psalms 45:3-7, 15, 17
Do you see how David felt before the fight? When most people cower and allow fear to undermine their strength, David stood tall. David lifted up the name of God and spoke the truth about the outcome before he even entered the trial. How different is that than what we do? When you face the pressure of life to you proclaim that you will see victory before you know how the solution will come? Do you praise the power of God rather than the size of your problems? Which is greater, what you face or the face of God?
David sees himself as a cared for companion of God. He says that you anoint your companions with the oil of joy. He says they are led in with joy and gladness. They enter the presence of the king. How much better does it feel to think you are being ushered into a life of victory dwelling with the King who wins every battle rather than thinking you have to earn it all in your own strength? David sees everything in light of what God has done rather than what he has to do and it fills his heart with joy. If you need more joy, spend more time praising what God has done, is doing, and will do. Lift Him up and He will lift you up.
David says I will perpetuate your memory. He does the same thing that Joshua does. He builds memory stones so they don't forget how God delivered them in the moments that mattered. The word of God teaches us that we need to take time to remember. We don't live in a culture that loves to take time to remember. We like to move on. We live in a what's next culture. We can be consumers rather than people of contentment. How could you take time today to slow down and give thanks for all God has done?
“Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body"
Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, 4, 6-8, 10
Solomon was the original entrepreneur. He sought wisdom from the Lord and the Lord gave it to him abundantly. What does wisdom say? It is good to take chances, diversify risk, work diligently, and develop patterns of prosperity. Many people do not prosper in their lives because of their lack of disciplines and poor patterns of living. Wisdom says a lot of people spend time watching the wind rather than working their tails off. Solomon says start early, sow your seed in the morning, and do not let your hands be idle. How does that hit you? Are there any areas where you could benefit from a more disciplined approach whether it is with your finances, in your friendships, with your family, with fitness, or in your faith?
Solomon says you have to learn to enjoy your life. Where does enjoyment or contentment come from? How can we grow in our enjoyment of life? Do we get this from just getting more of what we want or learning to appreciate what we have already been given? Solomon says one of the things that will most fill your heart with contentment is by remembering how God carried you through the chaos and catastrophes of life. God did not cause those hard times, but He was faithful to carry you when you were weakest through them. Taking time to remember helps you find the joy of contentment by reshaping your perspective on the pressures of the current moment.
“The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God...you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always...Is Gilead wicked? Its people are worthless! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Their altars will be like piles of stones on a plowed field.”
Hosea 12:2-3, 6, 9-11
Truth called out to the people through Hosea that they should return, maintain, and wait. Why would he use those three verbs? How do those actions steps help clarify what is important and help us execute on our calling? Returning to God is something we are meant to do early and often. Joshua turned to God before the battle, during the battle, and after the battle. Joshua maintained love and justice by doing the work and executing the plan with expectation according to God's guidance. Joshua waited on the Lord for the right time to come to attack. Each of these steps require trust. It requires trust to take the time to listen to Jesus. It takes trust to stay the course and maintain your walk on the narrow road. It certainly takes trust to wait. Have you been skipping any steps? Hosea called out the people for wandering off the path and not living by the patterns God taught.
Hosea called out the people of Gilgal. He calls them out for trying to find other ways to find victory apart from God. When he says the people are worthless, he is not saying God does not love them. He is saying they have chosen to place their worth, their trust, and their hope in things other than God. These same people called for help in their battles but never trusted God with their lives. God said your altars are worthless if all you do is practice ritual but never put your trust in Me.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession"
1 Timothy 6:6-12, 17-19
Paul says that if you align your life with God, choose a life of devotion to Him, and give thanks you will have great gain. He uses financial terms to highlight how little value today's dollars should have in our spiritual lives. He says the love of money is the root of many evils. Isn't that true? Money can have a strange influence on our hearts. Surprisingly, it is when we are giving rather than getting money that it loses it's hold on our hearts. How does money influence your heart?
Like Solomon, Paul says following Jesus is about devotion, obedience, discipline. Paul calls this type of living true wealth. Becoming like Christ is your currency. Paul values growth in your character more than gold in your bank account because of the eternal value you gain in becoming who God made you to be. Is that how you see the process of refinement that you experience through the pressures of life?
Paul says the same thing that is said to Joshua. He says fight the good fight. What does that mean to you? You might not like conflict or fighting. You may be one built for a battle. It might seem counterintuitive to be a follower of Jesus and be one who picks a fight, but it isn't. The root word for fight is the greek agon which is where we get agony. It might be better to understand this phrase agonize the good agony. Think about it. Jesus didn't come to live a life of ease. He came to save. He came to serve. He came to endure the cross and pay the penalty. That was agony. Is there not agony in training for a contest, overcoming a struggle, and contending for the faith through a life of discipline? When Paul says good, he is not saying pretty. He is saying noble, worthy, honorable. He is saying if you want to live a life of meaning there is a cost and that cost is your comfort.
What Paul is teaching is the same things that is taught in Joshua. We are called to be courageous and content. We are called to be refined by the fire and remember how God has moved. God wants you to learn to live out a life of victory through surrender. Surrender your comfort, surrender your pride, surrender your apathy and choose to fight the good fight. Choose to pay the price so that your life reflects the Christ who chose the cross. The victory we walk in is the victory of a battle that was already won on the cross. The agony we endure is so that the cross is not lost or forgotten. Jesus said take up your cross and follow me. Remember His words and renew your strength as you remain in the arms of nail scarred hands.