by Hanging on tight to each other, the wrestlers pulled and twisted, pushed each other across the floor, turned, toppled over, and slammed down onto the ground with a crash. All their brute strength was exerted into holding on to each other like never before. Neither opponent was willing to let go and relinquish the championship. Sweat dripped off their faces and draining into their mouths. All muscles were bulging and aching as each opponent fought to win the match.
“Kerbang!” went my great-grandmother as she toppled out of her small, rocking chair and onto the hardwood floor. “Yes,” one read that correctly. I had a great-grandmother who lived on a tobacco farm in Tennessee. When I was very young, we used to visit her at Easter. She cooked some really scrumptious food. Many years later, I can almost still smell the aroma of hot biscuits and gravy.
My petite great-grandmother had a favorite pastime. She loved following wrestling matches on TV. She would sit in her rocking chair, chew her tobacco, and watch wrestling. Although I was too young to remember, I have been told of how one day great-grandmother rocked herself right out of her rocking chair and onto the floor. The wrestling match was so exciting, that she was rocking extra hard and over her rocking chair went. She lay on the floor briefly, then got herself back up and into her rocker and continued on watching the wrestling match.
Thinking of my great-grandmother watching wrestling made me think of the fight we are in every day of our lives. Each day we live and breathe; we are in a constant battle. The lost are battling inner peace. They are trying to fill that inner void and never coming to a fulfilment that only the Lord Jesus can give. The Christians are also in a constant battle. They are struggling over the Spirit’s guidance and their own stubborn will. Satan is controlling way too many things and directing too many people away from the Lord’s will for their life. No matter how life is looked at it; there is a continual a battle.
Eph. 6: 12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
What are some things we need to know about this battle?
- God mentions this battle and God cannot lie, so we know there is a battle.
- This battle is real.
- This is not a physical battle, but one of our spirit, mind, and soul against the wickedness of this world.
“Yes!” This battle exists every day.
Like a wrestler who refuses to give up, how do we stay in the battle? How do we kee
p going? Even when all odds are against us. How? Sometimes the odds seem so great. We honestly do not know how to go on one more day. Like the wrestler who gets a time-out to breathe and refresh himself; we need a time-out. Our time-outs come in different forms than a wrestler. For our time-outs, we need to stay in the Bible, stay in church, and stay close to the Lord. Two things to remember:
- Not all our battle bruises are from our sins. Some of our battle wounds are just from living in this wicked world. Things we cannot do anything about. (Example, one does not get a job promotion. Someone crashes into your car.) No sin has been committed. This is just the wicked world around us trying to get us down.
John 15:18-19 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
- However, some of our battle bruises are from sins. Never forget the next verse.
I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
No matter what sin has been committed, God forgives. This is awesome! I love this! His love is so great; we cannot comprehend the magnitude of his love. Keep sins confessed and keep the channel of communication open to our Lord. We want him to hear us when we cry out in our battles.
Ps 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”
Now for the good news. Everyone likes gifts, prizes, and rewards. The wrestler who wins the match receives a prize. We can also attain a prize at the end of our fight, “a crown!” Ever imagine wearing a crown? As I prepared for a teen Sunday School class I recently read:
II Tim. 4:7-8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
It would be magnificent to win a crown from the Lord. Notice there is a stipulation to this crown. One cannot just fight a “good fight.” One also has to “love his appearing.” The two guidelines for this crown go hand-in-hand. People that I have seen in life that are fighting the “good fight,” are those who are loving “his appearing.”
I have heard people say, “I am looking forward to the Lord’s return, but ________.” If there is a “but” in one’s statement about the Lord’s return, one is not really loving “his appearing.” One is loving whatever is after the “but.” One is also focusing their life on what is after the “but.” If one is not fighting the “good fight” and loving “his appearing,” then one will not receive this heavenly reward of the “crown of righteousness.” Material things on this earth do not last long. Stuff falls apart quicker and quicker each year I get older. We seem to be living in a disposable world. “If it breaks, throw it out,” seems to be the motto. So, if necessary, refocus in the battle and truly “love his appearing” without a “but” attached. Get that “crown of righteousness.”
Matt. 6:20-21 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I hope this was an encouragement to:
- Stay in the “good fight” or get back into the “good fight.”
- No matter what life dishes out, do not give up.
- Keep sin confessed so the Lord will hear one’s cries during the battle.
- Love “his appearing.”
Lay up for one’s self that “crown of righteousness.”
Disclaimer: A funny note for the record. I do not watch wrestling. The only images I have of wrestling were as a young girl. Amazing what our minds remember.
