Stay in the Battle!

 All of us like to win first place. But you don’t lose just because you don’t come in first. You lose when you quit.

A lot of Christian men have given up the battle to receive their healing, to live upright lives, to stay faithful to their spouses and families, to follow God’s plan, and to obtain financial stability. How can you stay in the battle to do things God’s way? And if you’ve already quit, how can you get back in the fight?

First Timothy 6:11–12 says, “But thou, O man of God, FLEE these things; and FOLLOW after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. FIGHT the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” Notice three words: flee, follow, and fight. The success of your Christian life depends upon your learning these three things.

Flee from the things of the devil. That includes the love of money (1 Tim. 6:10). Money isn’t evil; the love of money is. If we’ll follow God’s Word, prosperity will come.

You can’t play around with the things of the devil and not get caught. Thank God there’s help and restoration. But you’ve got to choose to stay away from certain things. The devil wants to trap you.

Follow after the things of God. We choose to follow God or not to follow Him. He’s not going to make us follow Him. We must choose to follow after love and forgive—to follow after godliness, patience, and gentleness. Make sure that God’s plans and promises have a prominent place in your life. Make sure that God’s Word is a priority. When you do that, He will make it a priority to take care of you.

Fight the good fight of faith. The only fight that we’re called to fight is the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). How do you do that? Believe in your heart and say with your mouth what God says (Rom. 10:10). That’s the way you get everything God has provided for you.

You’ve got the Word of God and the Name of Jesus. Fight to declare God’s Word over your circumstances and your situation will turn around. If you’ve given up, get back in the battle. It’s not too late to win your fight. You and God together make the majority.

It’s your choice. You can flee, you can follow, and you can fight. Those three things will make you or break you. It’s not up to God or a preacher. It’s up to you.