Struggles - we all have 'em!

What comes to mind when you hear the word “struggle”? For me, and maybe most people, it’s not positive. Struggling conjures up images of two people in a great battle and the one struggling is the one about to concede victory. I think of Roman or Greek warriors, helmets shining in the sun, sweat dripping from their brows, sword against shield, battling each other with all their might to be the one that comes out on top! The truth is, they are both struggling. Struggling means that you are fighting against something. I would rather not struggle because, in my mind, struggling means that I will be having a hard time, and who wants to have a hard time? Not me.

I’ve never even thought of this until one morning when I was reading I Timothy and the word “struggle” popped off the page at me because of the context it was in. Paul was speaking to Timothy in 1:18 about all the prayers coming together for him to do well and be fearless in his struggle. Then verse 19 says “after all, this is a fight we’re in.” And it dawned on me that if I’m not struggling, then I’m not fighting.

The great thing about the struggle of the overcomer is that He has already overcome for us! Here is what the dictionary defines a struggle as:

1 .   an energetic attempt to achieve something; battle, attempt, effort, endeavor.

2 .   An open clas between two opposing groups or individuals; conflict, combat, feud, war, warfare, revolt, uprising

3 .   Strenuous effort; exertion, sweat, travail, wrestle, to contend

After defining that word I can see that I want my whole life to be a struggle FOR the Kindgdom, AGAINST its foe, Satan! I want to CONTEND for my King, to COMBAT the assailant at every turn, to RISE UP against an army meant to bring down everything my General gave His life for, knowing that the weapons of my WARFARE are mighty through Him for the pulling down of the enemy’s strongholds!

We need to be sure in our struggles that we have picked the right thing to struggle FOR and AGAINST. We need to assess our struggles and see what they are aimed at and if the outcome is even going to be beneficial for us or building God’s kingdom. There are many things out there that are not worth struggling for! One of the “things” that comes to mind is how much we fight for what WE want. Don’t fight for yourself! Jesus fights for you! (2 Chron. 20:15) Trust me, you would rather have Him fight for you anyway! When our focus is Him, His focus is us! If you only take one thing away from this article, let it be that if you aren’t struggling, the you’re not fighting, and if you are struggling then be of good cheer!