Fighting the good fight

The Christian life can be a battle, but our leader has already won the ultimate victory!

Without wanting to unhelpfully stereotype, there are battles that many guys and girls fight:

Guys like to fight in fantasy games like WOW and COD.
Ladies fight to be unique, recognised and accepted. This can involve a focus on external beauty, appearance, self-image and relationships status.

Jonathan Dodson sums it up well: "everyone fights for something ... Deep down we all want to be noticed, for our lives to count for something. What would happen if instead of spending hours in front of the video screen or mirror, we spent hours in front of the gospel? What if we fought for a more noble cause, a more beautiful image?"

What is worth fighting for?

The "noble cause" and "beautiful image" is the fight of faith. Paul repeatedly urges Timothy to fight this good fight:

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV)

Paul says the aim is to get to the end of your life and be able to say:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV)

But before we consider how we can fight the "good fight", we need to know about the victory that's already been won.

The great battle

One of the most popular and well-known stories in all the Bible is David and Goliath. All of Israel's army are terrified and no one will fight the enormous Goliath. But then an Israelite shepherd boy called David turns up and volunteers to take him on!

If we didn’t know the ending, we’d obviously be preparing for Goliath to do the absolute smack-down on David. And yet David approaches the battle confidently. Why? Here's what he says ...

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands ... and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

It might look unlikely, but the living God gave David the victory! Good story right? Everyone loves it when the underdog wins!

The fight is already won!

Just like David fought on behalf of the Israelites, Jesus fights on our behalf. Jesus is our Champion. Jesus defeats our enemies of sin, satan and death. Check it out ...

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Just like a sling and five stones seemed like nothing to defeat the might of Goliath, Jesus' death on the cross may have looked unimpressive too. But it was the ultimate victory! He triumphed over our enemies. He rose again, offering life to all who trust in Him.

You might be a really good fighter, and think you can deal with the enemy of sin and death on your own. You can’t. So trust in Jesus your champion! If you’re not a follower of Jesus, join his team. He is the champion. If you're with him, you are on the winning team for eternity! Click here to find out how to take the first steps in becoming a Christian.

Come back tomorrow to find out how to continue fighting the good fight in your own life each day.

This post originally appeared on davemiers.com