I was totally disappointed. I was physically sitting there but completely checked out. Just doing my own thing instead of paying attention. We had a guest speaker at church, and I showed up looking for the main man. Ugh. I'll just sit here in my own little world and pretend. Then, like my elementary school teachers did so often, my wife, Susan, snapped me back to attention and scolded me to pay attention. Some things never change...
Once I refocused and engaged, the message blew me away, and I almost missed it completely.
"But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith." (1 Timothy 6:11)
In a nutshell, we studied the above verse with these key points that are so applicable, not just as it relates to your faith, but all areas of your life:
As Timothy's mentor, Paul spoke sober truth and encouragement to his friend. (What a blessing to have a coach like that!) He reinforced that he WAS a Godly man and capable of leading. There are things he needed to steer clear of, and there are things he needed to go after. Most importantly, don't quit when the fighting gets tough, and it will get tough.
When fighting for your beliefs, I mean really fighting, it's hard. The world tells you you are off base, people turn their backs on you, you question yourself, and you feel alone.
This is especially true when you believe you can trust God and you are smack dab in the middle of a tough situation. Life has kicked you where you don't want to be kicked, and serious doubt kicks back. Trusting God doesn't seem like the rational thing to do because it just ain't working out. I've had a lot of those times in my life where on the outside I was nodding yes, but on the inside, well…something else altogether.
The beautifully harsh reality is that sometimes, trust in God means you don't get to get off the cross. You have to endure it until transformation happens and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding engulfs you. That requires and produces true faith.
Whatever battle you are in, fight for what you believe in like your life depends on it.
You always have to fight THROUGH something to get TO something.
Kick doubt in the teeth and don't quit.
And pay attention... just because it's not the voice you wanted to hear, doesn't mean it's not the message you needed to hear.