I don't know about you, but when there seems to be an ongoing need to actively fight for what is good and what matters most, I tend to experience that feeling that I'm just not getting something right.
Do you ever get the sense that if only you could manage to figure out the right skills, the right responses, the right 'formula' for living well as a spouse/parent/friend, etc., maybe you wouldn't have to fight SO HARD for what is SO important?
Do you ever find yourself asking why you're pushing, working, fighting, the best that you can, but somehow always battling? And all you TRULY want is what you KNOW is good?
Does the constant fight make me a failure?
How many of the stories of scripture speak of those who were also fighting for God's best? And of those stories, how often was the battle short-lived?
Abraham. Noah. Moses. Joseph. Esther. Daniel. David. Paul.
Only a few names, but a myriad of examples of lives lived in faith, walking in an ongoing tension of actively pursuing what God said was good and right. Years, sometimes decades, of struggle. Would I call any of them a failure? Did God?
Genesis says that Noah was a righteous man who walked faithfully with God - ultimately the ONLY one of his time. Yet to fulfill what God set before him, it is estimated to have taken ONE HUNDRED YEARS to construct the ark that would save his family. Nearly an entire century of fighting for God's best for those he loved while surrounded by those who were "only evil all the time."
Joseph knew at age seventeen that he was called by God to a position of leadership. Yet it took THIRTEEN YEARS of accusations, abandonment, slavery, and imprisonment before he stepped foot into this role. Nearly half of his life was spent alone, trusting God, faithfully making the next right choice time and time again with seemingly no end in sight. Fighting for what he knew was best without any human support, and ultimately paving the way to rescue his family from starvation, establishing what would later become the nation of Israel, the people of God.
Moses fought continually to realize his own identity as a child of God, while also fighting the control of Pharaoh and an entire culture of godlessness, and then battled the persistent fears of the Israelites in order to move forward into what God had prepared.
David was anointed as king and found himself spending many unexpected years fighting the emotional turmoil and endless exhaustion of simply staying alive long enough to see God's promise of leadership fulfilled.
Daniel was taken from his home, and even after earning the respect of his captors, he realized he had to fight for time in the presence of God, ultimately choosing prayer over his own life.
Abraham fought through decades of questioning and doubt to hold fast to God's promise for his family and future.
Esther battled fear, tradition, and the law of the land in order to stand before the king and protect her people when God provided unexpected position and favor.
And Paul ended up fighting his own upbringing and reputation, through death threats, arrests, and imprisonments, in response to the call of Christ to bring Truth to those who had not yet heard of God's love for them.
These stories, and others like them, speak of anything BUT failure.
Fighting for what matters, battling for the good, even repeatedly and at great length and cost, tells of tremendous COURAGE and FAITH.
So when the course of this life puts you and I at odds with the popular, when the tension between what we experience daily and what we KNOW to be right and true is constantly growing, when we seem to have fewer and fewer standing with us, remember that fighting for what matters is never failing.
And think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who, when "all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold", fought every instinct and emotion and influence and verbal attack, and chose to STAND.
Fighting, even when it seems constant and ongoing, for what God has set before you never makes you a failure. Instead, holding fast and standing strong in the midst of it all reveals the depth of your heart as a FOLLOWER of the only One worth following.
So fight strong and follow hard. Your heart and soul, and the eternal hope of those you love, is worth the battle.
"Finally, receive your power from the Lord and from His mighty strength. Put on all the armor that God supplies. In this way, you can take a stand against the devil's strategies. This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world. For this reason, take up all the armor that God supplies. Then you will be able to take a stand during these evil days. Once you have overcome all obstacles, you will be able to stand your ground." Ephesians 6:10-13
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