Fight the Good Fight

"Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called..."

(1 Timothy 6:12 NASB)

A hard lesson learned over this past few weeks:

• Faith is something we must constantly fight for
• It is a good fight

After a period of several months of very real transformation, I let down my guard.  In a sense, I became comfortable with where I was at and even overly confident in ways.  Things seemed to be going real well.  I felt that I was growing in my love of God, as well as my love of other people.  I spent time in the Word, in prayer, and in service to others.  But something was lacking.  I certainly wasn't as thankful as I should have been for the great things that God was doing in my life.  Pride crept in and rather than giving all of the glory to God, I think in some ways I was reserving some for myself.  I felt that I had things under control.

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like 

a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

(1 Peter 5:8 NASB)

Sin can creep in unnoticed.  It can spread like an infection.  In my complacency and attitude of having everything under control, I was not as quick to address things occurring in my thought life as I should have been.  After all, I had everything under control.

"...apart from Me you can do nothing."

(John 15:5 NASB)

I had nothing under control.  I knew that it was God who was accomplishing the change in me.  I was not "apart" from Him in the sense that I wasn't pursuing a deeper relationship with Him.  In fact, my love for Him was at an all time high.  I was giving Him the glory for His work in me with my lips, but in some ways, in my heart, the thought that perhaps I deserve the credit for the positive changes in me had entered in.  Certainly not in a way that I was accomplishing these changes myself, but perhaps in a way that while God accomplished this change in me, now I could maintain it on my own...that I would rely on Him to continue to change me, but in those ways I felt He had already worked in me, I was good enough to persevere under my own strength.  I was not.

"...to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand 

in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy..."

(Jude 24 NASB)

Not only does God deserve all credit for transforming me, He is due all credit for keeping me in a right state as well.  There is nothing good in me, except Him.

"...yet not as I will, but as You will."

(Matthew 26:39 NASB)

I presumed to know God's will for me in an area of my life.  On top of that, I presumed to know that the time was now for His will to be carried out in my life.  I was wrong.  My arrogance caused me to be led by my will, and even to boldly declare that what I desired for myself was God's will for me as well.

"...the enemy has pursued my soul;

he has crushed my life to the ground;

he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Therefore my spirit faints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

Answer me quickly, O LORD!

My spirit fails!

Hide not your face from me,

lest I be like those who go down to the pit."

(Psalm 143:3-7 ESV)

My loss of hope in Christ was a direct result of impatience and assigning my will to God.  I saw myself unable to attain what I desired for myself, now or in the future, which caused me to doubt everything.  I doubted that the changes in my life were real, that my hope in God was warranted, that my faith was genuine, and that I could persevere to the end in this journey.  Losing hope in the Savior has devastating effects.  I felt an instant and near total disconnect in my relationship with Christ and thought that the best thing that could happen to me would be a sudden and swift death, before all of my faith was gone.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,

And be gracious to me and answer me.

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,

“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

Do not hide Your face from me,

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not abandon me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation!

For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

But the Lord will take me up.

(Psalm 27:7-10 NASB)

When faced with the prospect that their was no hope for me, the Lord, as He never does, did not leave me.  He sent good Christian friends and brothers into my life to confront, comfort and encourage me.  The Lord restored my hope though His Word, His people, and His comforting presence in my heart.  Hopelessness turned to hope and my faith was renewed.  As miserable as this couple of weeks was, I know I have grown stronger in my faith and reliance on the Lord as a result of this trial.  God's gracious gift of joy has once again been given to me.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

(James 1:2-4 NASB)

God sends me love in the form of friends who patiently help bear my burdens and lovingly speak the truth to me.

"But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end..."

(Hebrews 3:13-14 NASB)

And encourage me on in my faith.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

(Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB)  

And remind me of the promise of God.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 1:6 NASB)

How do we go about engaging in the fight of faith successfully?  We must rediscover the age old gift of camaraderie in the fight of faith.  We must commit ourselves to some group of believers small enough to know each other's needs and to exhort each other in the fight of faith.  If you haven't done this already, I urge you with all my heart not to rest until you have made this commitment.

And when you discover camaraderie in the fight of faith, you'll experience another reason why Paul called it a good fight.  Very few things in this life are sweeter than like minded camaraderie in the greatest cause in the world.
-John Piper

Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face continually.

(1 Chronicles 16:10-11 NASB)