Shadowboxing: Winning the Battle Within 預覽

CHOOSE LIFE

Yesterday, we looked at the battle that rages between the flesh and the Holy Spirit on the frontlines of our hearts and minds. We arm ourselves for victory when we feed our spirits and follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our lives. Yet this can be hard to do in a culture that bombards us with every option imaginable to feed our flesh. It’s up to us to make life-giving choices over ones that may be instantly gratifying but will only distract us, divert us from the right course, or even derail us.

We can never underestimate to what extent our daily choices shape our individual lives and our collective future. This doesn’t mean we control the future. God is sovereign and He is in control of everything. But even when things happen that are beyond our control, we still choose how to respond: Will we include God in our situation? Will we stand firm in our faith? Will we listen to wise counsel? Will we persevere? Will we choose life?

I love this line from the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption: ‘Get busy living or get busy dying.’ It’s the mantra of Tim Robbins’s character Andy Dufresne, who is wrongfully convicted of murder. The way Andy sees things, he has two choices: bust out of Shawshank Prison and try to make a life on the outside or give up completely.

This is a dramatic example, and I’m not promoting prison breaks, but it reminds me of a biblical choice that Moses sets before God’s people in Deuteronomy 30:19 (MSG): ‘I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live.' Moses tells us how to choose life in the next verse: ‘You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life.’ (Deuteronomy 30:20 NLT).

The overarching way in which we choose life is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. After that, we keep choosing life by continuing to follow Him in a close, and intimate way. Colossians 2:6–7 (TPT) says: ‘In the same way you received Jesus our Lord and Messiah by faith, continue your journey of faith, progressing further into your union with Him! Your spiritual roots go deeply into His life as you are continually infused with strength, encouraged in every way. For you are established in the faith you have absorbed and enriched by your devotion to Him!’

Building a close, personal relationship with God is the cornerstone of a blessed life. However, we also choose life in countless other ways, big and small, every day. We choose life when we’re patient and kind; forgiving of others; generous with our resources; and diligent in our work. We choose life when we watch our words; pay attention to how we think; lend a helping hand; pray more and worry less; live in harmony with others; spend quality time with loved ones; develop healthy habits; kick unhealthy ones, you name it. Even when we keep our cool in traffic, we’re choosing life.

God is with us in all this. The Holy Spirit leads and empowers us, and the Word of God is a lamp to our feet. (See Psalms 34:12–14.) As we live in intimacy with the Holy Spirit, and in obedience to Him, the fruit of the Spirit appears in ever increasing measures in our lives: ‘But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.’ (Galatians 5:22–23 NLT).

So, I encourage us, let’s keep fighting the good fight through the choices we make, and never give up.