The Good Fight, Finish the Race

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. — 1 Timothy 6:12 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. — 2 Timothy 4:7

Yes, there will be challenges to your faith; there will be times when you will be tempted to give up and quit. But what great glory it will bring to God if you keep fighting the fight and running the race! And what a great reward will await you at the finish line!

We know that God will meet our needs if we go to Him and ask Him in faith. Yet in this world, we face circumstances that can cause us to falter in our faith. The economy and employment situation, impending wars, discrimination, and the daily life and family issues we face can cause us to quit the fight. But it is in these precise times that we must fight the good fight of faith!

The Bible says in First Timothy 6:12 that we are to fight the good fight of faith. These are the times when we must stand our ground and not quit—even if it looks like we’re going down for the count. Don’t quit! God will cause us to be victorious if we will believe His Word and not give up. It’s one thing if you quit a fight in the natural. But when we embark upon this spiritual fight and we quit in the middle of it, the consequences can be extremely sobering; whether or not we stay in the fight could mean life or death.

So stay in the fight of faith! Yes, you may lose a round or two in the fight of faith. You may falter and the devil may take you by surprise, but just because you lose a few rounds doesn’t mean you lose the whole fight. You may come away from that first round or two with a black eye and a bloody nose, so to speak, until you learn how to stand on the Word for your victory. But just because there are setbacks, doesn't meant that you've lost the fight.

If you will put your trust in the God, you will be ready for the next round.  There are too many Christians who are falling for the devil’s lies. They are following false teachers who call themselves Christians yet they preach hate and not God's love. It is the greatest problem in Christianity today. Churches are losing the faithful because they are not following the word of God.  The churches who are gaining membership are doing so by feeding on the fear, selfishness, and hate that exists in people's hearts.

Not only is that a problem, but when things go bad in our lives, we think that God is punishing us or ignoring us. Instead of pressing on in faith, they begin to say, “Well, I guess I might as well give up! God isn’t going to answer me this time.” And we quit and lay our faith down, and that’s as far as we ever go. We never take another step or make another advance to gain the territory God has already promised us.

I don’t believe in quitting! I don’t think God believes in quitting, either! In reading the Word of God, you’ll see that the people God used were those who refused to quit! They weren’t people who were necessarily any braver, wiser, or smarter than we are. They were just people with a tenacity and determination of faith who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer! There is an old saying, “Quitters never win, and winners never quit!”

Don’t be satisfied with second best in life! But on the other hand, don’t be upset with yourself if you lose a round or two, because condemnation is the devil’s way to try to get you down. Losing a round or two in a fight does not mean you’ll lose the whole fight! Make up your mind: “I am determined to follow God’s plan for my life. I will not turn aside from following Jesus no matter what!” And if you’re out there in the midst of the fight when the last bell rings, and you’ve been faithful to what God has told you to do, you’re going to be wearing a victor’s crown.

Life might be a journey of ups and down, but as 2 Timothy 4:7 says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  While that was a final goodbye to Timothy from Paul, it is something we should all strive to be able to say at the end of our lives.  I will continue to fight the good fight.  I will finish the race.  I will keep the faith.  Don't let anyone discourage you from your goals.  Continue to fight, run the race, and keep the faith, for in the end, if you do those things, you will be rewarded in this life and the next.