In this political season, in particular, there is an ongoing debate about whether the war is justifiable. Is there ever a “good war”? Not in terms of death, injury, and loss, but it can be in terms of defense and honor.
Paul is talking to Timothy about fighting the good fight. I was born in at the end of the Korean War and before the Vietnam War officially started. But as believers, we were born again, not to a time of peace, but a time of war. There is a battle raging!
I sought the good fight, I taught the good fight, and I fought the good fight.
It is a battle in the mind played out in life; the arrows of the Revolutionary War plunge against us, as the devil doesn’t want us revolting against him.
The Civil War wages its war as the enemy seeks to turn brother against brother, sister against sister – even as Christians. The devil doesn’t like civility; he’s not used to it. he functions in chaos.
The World Wars turn races/nationalities against each other, while we have jungle warfare through Vietnam and children are being wounded because the enemy puts them in the front line of defense. They are not protected in birth or growth, and are fast becoming the target to wound the greater family of man.
Our current battleground has been in the desert – what a place for war. Excessive heat, exposure, no shade and again, we find the weapons of warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty (2 Corinthians) through God through the pulling down of strongholds.
We need to fight the “good” fight. Everything God does is good, In creation, upon retiring each day, He exclaimed His work as good. Now, He didn’t have the complete creation done yet, but God is satisfied in increments of days and time, as long as He is in control of that moment. As Joseph found out, “what the devil meant for harm, God made for good”. That is God’s seal of approval, embossed with His character and defined by His presence.
When we fight, we would do well to think of the Greek word for fight: “strateious”, the root word of “strategy”. We should not just approach a spiritual fight with our dukes up and closing our eyes and hoping we punch out someone bad. We need to have a strategy. Ask God for specific answers to problems in your life; namely, how to deal wth certain things. Once, about 25 years ago, I overheard something mean someone said about me and I was preparing to go into the Bible study and lead the group. That person was in this group. I went into the prayer room and said: “Lord, I can’t teach with this on my soul. What do I do?”. He told me this and I never forgot it: “Treat them like it never happened”. That is true forgiveness. I was able to go in and be a vessel of God, instead of a cup of sorrow or anger.
God can give specific guidelines, ideas, Scripture, procedure, as to how to handle life’s situations, and I think we need to seek His advise more than we do.
Remember, this is a fight of faith, not a fight of worlds, fists, or fractures. This is the only fight that actually heals and restores.