Fighting

I picked up an old journal from 2006/2007 today and started paging through. How frustrating that what I was writing back in 2007 could have been written this morning. I thought I had made more progress than this! Am I the only one tired of the same old fight? The same old temptations? The same old defeats!

The Message translates Ephesians 6:10-12 this way:
"And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels."

I always think I have a fear of failure. But what I really have is a fear of failed. Time after time. I don't have near the fear of trying something new that doesn't work out. Where I struggle is trying to tackle something I have tried to work through before and failed. A habit that refused to break or a temptation that just wouldn't go away.

As Christians, there is a real danger of fear of failed. We quit fighting. Give in. Give up. Give out. Lose hope. As in "this is how it has always been and I am not strong enough to do this anymore. Fine." The big W WHATEVER on our foreheads.

Do we live as if this is truly a life-or-death battle as stated in Ephesians? Because it is.

Ephesians 1:17-19(Message):
"But I do more than thank, I ask - ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory - to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him - endless energy, boundless strength!"

Sometimes we can miss the "utter extravagance of his work in us" in giving up the fight! The difference is life and death.

So I would like to encourage us, and be encouraged, to keep going. Fall down? Get up. Get discouraged? Keep going. The fight is worth it. Jesus is worth it.