Fight the Good Fight

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses… Keep this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I TIMOTHY 6:11-12, 14 HCSB)

The apostle Paul knew firsthand the challenges, the sufferings, the persecutions a pastor faces. He himself had endured beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonment, and more during his life of serving Christ. Certainly, there were wonderful times of miracles and conversions, but they were all at a cost he knew was worthy in the bigger picture of God. So, in spite the hardships that came, not just with being a Christian but merely living life on this earth, Paul remained optimistic and motivated to “fight the good fight of the faith.”

So just how do we fight a good fight? Not with fists or a good right hook, and not in our own efforts. Human logic reduces a fight to nothing more than a battle to win and be right. Of course we want justice, but we also want it accomplished in ways that make sense to our humble minds, which we are told are like those of sheep. But Paul’s instructions are to fight the good fight by pursuing righteousness and godliness. He tells us to keep pursuing our faith and to keep ourselves strong in Christ. He says to pursue love and share it with our neighbors in abundance, and ... to pursue gentleness. Yes, pursue a gentle spirit within. This runs so contrary to how we think fighting anything should be, let alone the obstacles we find ourselves in that make life very hard.

Paul tried fighting for what he thought was right by using brute force and condemnation—until he experienced his own conversion. Once we are overcome by the Holy Spirit, we are called to a completely different definition of what it means to fight, and it’s much more effective and completely life giving

Let us all cling to these wise words from someone who knew from personal experience, as well as from Someone who knew the real weapons we’d need—not for winning any fleshly battles, but for winning souls for Christ, which is the ultimate war we are all in.

Father,

Please don’t let the troubles I face today get my eyes off pursuing You. Help me to be a pleasing witness through the love I have for You, and help me to have a gentleness of spirit that cannot be mistaken for anything other than Christ in me.

I pray in Your holy name. Amen.

This is an excerpt from God’s Truth for Troubled Times by Lisa Stilwell - a devotional book now available from DaySpring publishing. Learn more about this book, or shop other books & devotionals from DaySpring.