Fight By Loving
The Old Testament rule was “an eye for an eye.” The New Testament rule is:
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matthew 5:43-44
This is what sets us apart from other religions and philosophies of the world. The Lord instructs us to love and bless our enemies. Love is a more powerful force to fight with than any strength or natural ability we might have. Love goes against fear and self-preservation. Love changes us, it will change the atmosphere, and it will cause others to change.
Our pursuit in life is not retaliation but reconciliation! We are called to the ministry of reconciliation. When there are problems among people, we need to avoid adding fuel to the fire by becoming divisive, political, or slanderous. That means when there is division, contention, or disagreement, our goal is to be peace makers.
Fight By Persevering
In our day to day life, we have to continually wage war against unbelief, monotony, long tough periods, and the vexation of our spirit.
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. 1Timothy 1:18-20
Paul tells Timothy to wage a good warfare with the prophecies spoken over him. There are times in life that what is visible seems completely opposite of the way things should be. Paul was exhorting Timothy on something that he himself had first-hand experience with.
Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ was imprisoned many times. He could have easily gotten discouraged and thought that maybe the apostolic call wasn’t for him. Perhaps it was just his own zeal that made him so driven. Maybe God had somebody else in mind that could be more effective in reaching people. However, those were not Paul’s thoughts. He was convinced of what God had called him to do and nothing deterred him from doing it. Even when he was confined because of imprisonment, He didn’t allow it to change his identity or his calling.
Life can get hard at times with no relief in sight. The only way we can stand victoriously is by reminding ourselves of God’s promises through His word and through the prophetic words spoken over us. In those times, we wage a warfare by persevering under trials and tribulations.
Our promised land is not a location in time and space as it was for the Israelites, but it is a spiritual reality of true freedom that we can walk in everyday of our lives. That’s what has been promised to us by Jesus. He sets us free from the bondage of sin and our past. He then reveals his plan and destiny for our lives one step at time. Once we enter His kingdom, we enter a battleground for our soul and the soul of others! There is always something worth fighting for! Praise God!