I have a habit before I roll out of bed each day and head for my morning cup of coffee. A habit that serves me well and sets my heart and mind on what matters most as I face the demands of each day. It's the very first thing I do. I do it before I put my feet on the floor or mentally process what's on my plate for the day. It comes before coffee, a shower or my morning email check. It's one of the most treasured moments of my every day: listening to the Voice of Truth.
This morning was different. I woke in a state of prayer, the talking side of the heavenly dialogue. I was working my way through reminding God about the needs of person-after-person-after-hurting-person who are facing insurmountable challenges. Some of the specifics had me awake throughout the night of a rather fitful sleep. My running at the mouth morning prayer was an attempt to leave these dear ones in God's care in hopes I could get on with the fullness of the day I faced. As I prayed a knot in my stomach grew. I contemplated the heartache some are currently facing ....
... a young single mom with unexplainable seizures that are more frequent instead of less as she lays in ICU, her family heartsick as they wait and pray for answers ... the grieving family and friends of a local pastor who just passed from this life into eternity, a man whose presence on earth will be missed beyond description ... a couple who is separated and desperately trying to make some sense out of the place they find their once love-filled marriage ... my husband facing a new school year without his teaching partner of the last 14 years, his sense of loss and profound sadness ... the two young boys of my husband's teaching partner as they face the school year without the security and love of their mom ... a pregnant mother with multiple health issues that keep her from sleeping day or night as she finds herself so physically depleted she can hardly function ... a family with five children, including a new born baby, who just lost their home and their van after months of the dad searching for a job but coming up short ... my sister planning a fundraiser to help with the medical bills that stack up like dust while she prepares for a heart transplant .... another friend facing the near-to-certain need for a liver transplant .... Andy's coach and his wife as they worry about the unanswered questions over all of the developmental and physical delays of their dear little one-year old baby girl .... my precious mother lying in the same bed, in the same room day-after-day-after-long-day with a palatable desire to die so she can go to heaven and be with Jesus ... a couple heartsick over their adult daughter's divorce, to embrace her gay lifestyle and lover ... others grieving loss after death, divorce, a move, cut-backs at work, a broken relationship ... and on and on it goes.
As my prayer list grew so did the knot in my stomach, as did a sense of dread and being overwhelmed. Both began to settle on me like a wet and heavy blanket. At that moment, the Voice of Truth interrupted my thoughts and prayers ...
"You're fighting the good fight, Sherilyn. Tthe good fight of faith."
As I meditated on that truth, the knot began to shrink and peace replaced the dread. The good fight ... the good fight of faith ... that truth adjusted my perspective. That is a fight worth fighting! We are all in a fight of some kind every day. We fight traffic when we're late, the clock to beat a deadline, the bank account being low and the needs being high, the demands at home versus those at the office, and more. Beyond those more trivial things we often fight each other along with our sick or injured bodies, and others that are bigger yet. We are all in a fight of some kind or another most of the time. Few are worth our time, energy or money. Some are unavoidable. The fights in life are part of why we go on vacation ... they are why we love to go to places like Disney World, a beach front house or plan a camping trip ... to escape the fight of daily life or to seek reprieve from the fight of a much greater magnitude. And yet, there is a good fight. The fight of faith.
FAITH is "perceiving as real fact
what is not revealed to the senses." *
what is not revealed to the senses." *
The good fight of faith is a fight we must choose regardless of the cry of our senses. It's a demanding cry. A relentless cry. It's a cry that reasons, "If I can't see or feel it then it's not going to be." Faith reasons, "I may not see or feel it but it's going to be!" Faith comes by hearing the Voice of Truth.
Faith most often leads to a battlefield. No one is ever pushed onto the battlefield of faith. Not even by God. One has to step into the fight of faith. It's a good fight. Worth the long exhausting days that feel like war. Worth the unceasing threat of the enemy. Worth the sacrifice of time praying for, serving or loving another. Against all odds. Faith is worth the battle wounds. The fight of faith promises sure victory. The fight of life promises nothing.
Faith most often leads to a battlefield. No one is ever pushed onto the battlefield of faith. Not even by God. One has to step into the fight of faith. It's a good fight. Worth the long exhausting days that feel like war. Worth the unceasing threat of the enemy. Worth the sacrifice of time praying for, serving or loving another. Against all odds. Faith is worth the battle wounds. The fight of faith promises sure victory. The fight of life promises nothing.
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