The Good Fight

"Keep fighting the good fight, keep letting your light shine, 'cause I'm never gonna leave you, always gonna see you through to the other side."

 I heard those words in a song the other day and it made me wonder, what exactly is the "Good Fight"? And how to we fight it?

 According to Webster's Dictionary, the definition of fighting the good fight is "to try very hard to do what is right". As a christian I think it goes deeper than that. Ephesians 6:12 says that our struggle, our fight, isn't against flesh and blood but against powers of the dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

 So our good fight isn't just trying to do the right thing, but is actually a daily battle to follow Jesus and not get swept into sin. Our fights are against pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, sloth and any other temptation or sin that doesn't please God. 

 Seems like a tall order right? Trying to fight the good fight when we can't even see most of our enemies, it seems pretty impossible. Thankfully, we serve a God who makes the impossible possible. He has given us the best offensive and defensive gear we could ever ask for.

 First, he gave us his word. As we continue to fight the good fight, it is imperative to read our Bibles. When we read the Bible, God encourages, strengthens, heals and reveals things to us. He tells us exactly who he is and exactly how we need to respond to the sneak attacks from our enemies. He also gave us the Holy Spirit who will help guide us in tough situations and will bring to our remembrance verses that will help us keep going. 

 Secondly, he gave us prayer. When we pray, our requests all go straight up to God. He hears every single prayer we pray and promises to answer. James 5:16 tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. He even gave us the gift of speaking in tongues, which is kinda like talking to God but in a secret code that only you two know. Regardless of what we are praying for or about, as a christian fighting the good fight, prayer is literally asking for reinforcements from an insanely smart and strong general who will lead us to victory. 

 Thirdly, he gave us armor. We have a belt of truth that will hold us up and keep lies at bay. We have an impenetrable breastplate of righteousness to protect our hearts. Our feet are fitted with a readiness and preparation that comes from the gospel of peace. We have a strong shield of faith that extinguishes every flaming arrow or bullet from the enemy. We have a sturdy helmet of salvation that keeps our heads safe from Satan's head games and deception. And not only are we defended from the toes up, but we possess the deadliest weapon ever known to man. We have the sword of the spirit and when we use it, the demons tremble and shake.

 In conclusion, as christians, we fight a fight that is against things that displease God, and most of those things are not even things, but evil spiritual forces that long to see our demise. God has equipped us with incredible weapons of defense and offense that those puny lil enemies don't stand a chance against. And, can I tell you a secret? God has already won the victory and has triumphed over all sin and death and there will be a day when God takes all of those evil forces and throws them straight into a lake of fire and locks them up forever and ever and ever and ever.... So keep up your courage and don't let this fight get you down. 

Till next time my friends, 
 Linnea

 Song link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4co6n3zUcA

 Bible verse references: http://blb.sc/003KxC       http://blb.sc/003A9W       

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