Going the distance

I have always enjoyed watching movies, and one of my all-time favorites is the first Rocky movie. The movie is about a man named Rocky, an unknown boxer from Philly, who gets the chance to fight the heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed. The night before the big fight, Rocky goes to the arena where the fight will be held and takes a moment to reflect on everything. He then comes home and tells his girlfriend Adrian that he’s realized he can’t defeat Apollo, but if he could just at least go the distance and last all 15 rounds, then he would still feel like he won.

Underdog stories like that are always awesome, and we all love the idea of just not giving up on something and really being able to beat the odds. The problem, as we all know, is real life usually doesn’t work that way, and if you are a believer with a sin struggle, you know the underdog fight all too well. We start off fighting whatever sin is besetting us, and then we get knocked into the corner, and it feels so overwhelming we give up because we can’t beat it, so what’s the point? The problem is we are usually fighting all wrong, and so we need to know how to fight so that we can go the distance in our Christian walk. 

In 1 Corinthians 10:13, we see this: No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 

In the lead up to this verse, the Apostle Paul is explaining the seriousness of sin and why we have to learn from the examples of the past. He reminds all of us that sin starts with a temptation or a desire that draws us away from Gods standard and even allows us to think that we are in control and therefore we can handle it. The truth is that temptation literally takes hold of us or arrests us if you will and we become enslaved to it and that is what brings forth sin; see James 1:15. He tells us that this is common so it’s not anything that should catch us off guard and we should be ready, but again how do we fight?  

Well we see that it’s Gods faithfulness to us that is allowing the way of escape so that we can bear under the temptation and that is how we fight. That’s right, by relying on God and taking the opportunity He gives us to remove ourselves in whatever way is necessary for that situation we will always be victorious in the moment because of Him and our reliance on Him. See the issue isn’t that the temptation is too hard or that we are just human, it’s that we have to be willing to do the hard work of trusting that Gods way is better than what we want or feel. See WE will never be able to defeat sin completely in our lives, but if we rely on Jesus and take the way out He gives us we will begin to sin less. Then, and only then, will we be able to truly go the distance in our Christian walk as we begin to fight Gods way. 

God is a faithful Father who will never allow a temptation in my life that is more powerful that His ability to keep me. - David Jeremiah

Today if you don’t know Jesus I want you to know that there isn’t a fight for salvation because Jesus already defeated sin on the cross. You have been given an opportunity to escape the coming judgment by placing your faith in the work that Jesus did on that cross. He is only a prayer away and He will not turn away anyone who comes to Him. Receive the forgiveness He offers today.