Change, Confidence, Encouragement, Faith, God's Plan, Perseverence, Relationship to Christ, Struggles

Fighting the Good Fight that Leads to a New Beginning

God gives each of us tasks, talents, and abilities in our daily walk with Him. Oftentimes that requires us to do battle against the enemy of our souls, Satan. Each victory we win sets us on a course toward a new beginning. If we look at where we are now compared to what we were 10 years ago, I’d venture to say that each of us would say we are not where we were then. We’re not the same person, our walk with God is different than it was, our attitudes have changed, a myriad of things are different because we have grown spiritually.

The Apostle Paul was giving instruction to Timothy and encouraging him. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 says, “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.” (NASB)

Paul considered Timothy a spiritual son because he had led Timothy to Jesus. Timothy pastored at the church of Ephesus and had to deal with a city steeped in paganism. Ephesus was a port city that was based in Greek and Roman culture, and that included the many gods they worshipped. Paul encourages Timothy to keep the faith and fight the good fight. In keeping the faith, Timothy needed to remain strong against the current of paganism that surrounded him and the early church. Each battle won brought him one step forward. Each step forward was the start of a new beginning in his walk with the Lord.

The same is true for us. Each battle we win, each time we complete a task God gives us, each talent or ability that is used to further the Gospel, each temptation we successfully resist, brings us one step closer to a new chapter in our spiritual walk, a new beginning.

Paul tells Timothy of others who have strayed from the faith and their lives “suffered shipwreck” because of it. When we leave the pathway God wants us to follow, our lives can go off course and we end up in a worse condition than before we strayed away. Fighting the good fight of faith is a daily exercise. Using the gifts, talents, and abilities God gives us in a way to bring Him honor and glory is one way to fight the good fight.

Keeping faith means trusting God with everything within us, with confidence in Him. In the Amplified Bible, verse 19 says, “Holding fast to faith (that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence) and having a good (clear) conscience.” Daily, we encounter things that go against God’s Word, a society that has turned away from God, temptation from the enemy to go after what the world says is ok, following something that leads us away from the calling that God has called us to, these things can cause us to “shipwreck” our faith. When we do battle and win, we take one more step forward.

Staying in one place spiritually makes us stagnant in our faith and there is no growth. When we don’t move forward, it can make us an easier target for Satan to attack our faith. God has a plan for us, a plan for our good, a plan that causes us to grow in our walk with Him, a plan to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Fighting the good fight by walking the plan God has laid out for us brings us victory, and each victory is one more step toward a new beginning.

Published by

Donna Knuth Rice

I am trying a blog for the first time in my life, and frankly, I feel like I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing! But, here goes. I work at a Christian Television network in the Correspondence Department, where I write letters and emails to our viewers, pray with them for their needs, and send materials they request. I am a Christian. I was saved at the age of 11 during a youth meeting at my church. My pastor led me to the Lord, and to say the least, my life has been an adventure. I am a widow. My late husband, Allen, passed away after 34 1/2 years of marriage. He had been sick the last seven years of his life, and it was a struggle, for him and for me. We met as part of a singing group that was affiliated with a Christian Radio station, and we sang together all through our lives together. We both worked in television and radio all through our married life, mostly for Christian stations. Besides singing I also play flute. I had the luxury of having parents who started out as music teachers...so music was in our house constantly. Some people describe me as being a loud-mouthed lime type...can't disagree with that. I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth more times than I can count! I also have a tendency to say exactly what's on my mind...which is why I get myself in so much trouble! LOL! Trust me, that's something me and God have been working on for a very long time. I have no children here on earth, although I have a baby in heaven. My baby here is my dog Jack. He's a black lab/ chow mix. He's a big boy....thinks he's a lap dog! Can't think of much else to say. The reason I started this blog is because a few months ago in church, a guest pastor came and delivered a message, and when he asked for those of us who wanted prayer to come forward, I did. When he came to me he asked me if I did any journaling. I told him no 'cause I wasn't very good at it. He told me to start, and prophesied over me that my journal thoughts would impact other people. I wasn't sure just how I was to go about doing this. In fact, I was a little hesitant at first. I started journaling at home, and our assistant pastor's wife asked me to submit something for our Senior newsletter. I didn't the first edition, but something I had heard on Christian radio a long time ago and has stuck with me all these years, came to mind so I submitted an article. That article will be my first post. I don't claim to have all the answers, and my thoughts may seem a little "out there", but I feel God has been prodding me to do this, and so here I am. I hope what I post will bring encouragement, and "Something to Think About".

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