Fighting The Good Fight预览

Our Weakness  

When we are faced with our weakness, we can either agree with the condemnation of the accuser, or with the testimony of Jesus’ blood shed for us on the cross. The Apostle Paul combats the enemy’s quest for our self-hatred and discrediting ourselves with the truth of God’s faithfulness to us amidst temptation to present us blameless at His appearing. Fighting the good fight often looks like persevering through our failures and clinging to the goodness and faithfulness of Jesus. This builds an enduring faith.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul describes a thorn in his flesh the Lord would not remove—in order to bind the apostle in humility. In Romans 7, he confessed that he constantly did things he did not want to do. The Lord was sanctifying Paul and his desires were often in opposition to his flesh. Paul did not excuse his sin. He did not hide his sin. Paul confessed his sin and celebrated the weakness of his flesh as a means for God’s powerful grace to be perfected in him. We who depend on Jesus for salvation, sanctification, and maturity in Christ cannot spend our days agreeing with the accuser of the brethren. We must fully rely on the integrity of God’s Word and cling to the promises made to us in Christ, working our salvation out with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

The truths of the Gospel encourage, equip, and empower us to persevere through trials and even personal failures. Let’s ask God to grant us courage to renounce our unbelief and believe on Him in Christ every day.