The Punches part 1
There's an awesome scene in the movie Rocky Balboa where Rocky is talking to his son, and he says two things that really stick out: 1. "Nobody hits harder than life." And 2. "It ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." I've always said the hardest part about life is living. You take a step forward and then life wants to make you take two steps back. It's hard to get traction sometimes. Hard to feel like you ARE moving forward. But look at Exodus 14:12-15, "Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." The people of Israel had just been release from over 400 years of slavery. And the first thing they did was they decided they WANTED to go back. Because they didn't trust in the new thing God was doing. So Moses tried to soothe them by putting God on display. "God will fight for you. Don't worry." But then God flipped the script. He said, "Why are you crying unto me? Tell the people to go forward!" It always makes me chuckle when people drop the catchphrase, "God works in mysterious ways." Because most of the time God works through people. THAT'S the mystery--Christ IN YOU the hope of glory. And the mystery has been revealed. He has (and is) revealing Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us. Notice God didn't say He wouldn't fight for the people. He simply told them to move forward. He fights FOR us, by fighing THROUGH us. And by "fight" in the New Covenent I mean fighting the good fight of faith. Laying hold onto the gift of eternal life that we've already been given. The war to end all wars was won on the cross. Which means we don't have to fight anymore in the sense of conquering enemies. There are no enemies left. Except maybe the one right between our ears. We make mountains out of molehills and struggle to conquer. Guys! We are MORE than conquerors through Him that loves us. Because HE conquered. He wasn't giving the people mission impossible when He told them to go forward. He was showing them the Way (and the Truth, and the Life). He was giving them a way of escape, as 1 Corinthians 10:13 puts it. So what I'm saying is... instead of always trying to punch our way out of stuff... we need to start rolling with the punches. Fall down seven times, and get up every time. Don't quit. Don't go back. Go forward. Upward and God-ward. That's the way out. Life is going to be life. And life takes no prisoners. But guess what we have: We have ABUNDANT life. A life filled with love. Being loved by God and loving Him back by loving others with that same love. That's our strength (as we're going to see tomorrow). That's HOW we roll with the punches. Not by fighting back, but by simply moving forward. Not letting life keep us down. Rolling with the punches.