The Strength and Vitality of Your Faith

By Alexandra Copeland

God tells us through the Apostle Paul in 1Timothy 6:12 (NLT), “Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.” We know that this verse means business because it begins with a word that is a call to action. There are very few people who don’t know what it means to fight; it’s to struggle against something, with an intent to win in the end. Make no mistake, the struggle is real, and the war is within our own minds. Paul makes it very plain that this particular fight is inevitable in life. He also makes something else crystal clear, and this begs us to delve much deeper.  

If there’s a good fight of faith, deductive reasoning begs us to consider that there’s also a bad fight of faith; one where we’re swinging, but only hitting air. Punches are not landing on the intended target. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for. It is matter; therefore, it has a weight to it. You may not see it landing a blow, but the impact is absolutely and unquestionably felt and effective. The impact of faith is a changed reality. It takes a thought in the form of hope, and transforms it into evidence that is undeniable.  

We should be eternally grateful that Heavenly Father has not kept us in the dark about any aspect of the fight. In His Word, He tells us what we’re fighting with, for, and against. We stepped into the boxing ring of faith through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that he’s both the founder and finisher of faith. When we accepted him as Lord and asked him to come into our hearts and take control of our lives, he brought some spiritual goodies and faith is one of them. So we have the faith of Jesus Christ, and we can live the more than abundant life that he has made possible for us. In John 10:10, he also tells us that we have an opponent in the ring. It’s an adversary, the devil, that wants to steal, kill, and destroy us.  

The adversary uses weapons like distractions, bombardment, confusion, and ignorance to sow seeds of doubt and fear; because doubt and fear are enemies of faith. Doubt and fear is negative believing OR believing in the wrong direction. They yield negative outcomes and consequences, and they are the antithesis or opposites of right believing. Our opponent’s game plan is to work through people and situations to keep our faith weak. In other words, he tries to keep us so distracted that we lack the will and endurance to stay focused. 

Faith requires conviction, and conviction requires focus. Without it, we continue to exert and exhaust energy in the fight by swinging in the air. This is the quintessential bad fight. Swinging in the air is the equivalent of blaming people, things, and situations for our weaknesses instead of taking the time to strengthen ourselves in the faith of Christ.  

Galatians 3:26(NLT) tells us, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Going further in the boxing ring paradigm, as children of God through Christ, our punches are supposed to land every time. God does not give imperfect gifts. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings through Christ, and we are fully equipped by God to not just win, but to be more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). If this doesn’t appear to be the case in your circumstances, then perhaps it’s time to examine closely if you’re actually in the good fight.  

2Corinthians 13:5(NLT) challenges us to “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves.” All of us have prayer requests that might have been the central theme of our prayer lives for quite some time. The single person wants to find a good and Godly spouse. The person dealing with a health challenge is believing God to be healed. Those struggling in their finances are waiting on a financial breakthrough. We have some things that we want God to do for us, but spiritual maturity and growth will press us beyond our personal desires. For the Christian at the meat-and-not-milk stage, make no mistake, the alleviation of suffering, lack, and loneliness cannot be the focus of your faith.

  

Jesus Christ said in Matthew 16:24 (NLT), “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”” Jesus has already won the victory for us, and has invited us to come inside the ring of faith, because that is where the action is. He has told us, “Stand in me! Move as I move, sway as I sway, punch as I punch!” If you fight outside of Christ, you cannot win. The fight of faith is HIS FIGHT. He’s the author and the finisher of it. We must deny ourselves when we step inside the ring, because stepping inside the ring is stepping inside of him; where things like love, generosity, peace, joy, power, strength and victory are eminent. 

  

Mark 9 tells us the record of Jesus healing a boy that was possessed with a demon. The demon caused the child to convulse and foam at the mouth. The child’s father came to the disciples for help, but they were not able to cast the demon out. He then brought the child to Jesus, and he asked the father a few questions—questions of which he already knew the answers. On the surface, it’s one of those things that makes you go, ‘hmmmm.’ Why would Jesus ask what he already knew? The questions were for the sake of the father, whose mind and heart had not yet got on board with the faith required to land a punch.

  

In Mark 9:22, the father of the child with seizures said, “And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus replied in verse 23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” This father was a spiritual neophyte. He was not born-again and redeemed by the blood of Christ like you and me. He didn’t have the bible to read and study about Christ every day, and he didn’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit to teach him. You and I are the possessors of these spiritual treasures and so much more!

God has given us the faith of Jesus Christ. This is too rich to comprehend in any way other than by faith. And not only this, God has given us everything we need to keep our faith in Christ continually strong and vital. We do it by focusing our faith on the things that matter most to God, which is the ministry of reconciling people to Him and growing His family. Matthew 6:33 tells us that when we make this our number one priority, we please Him and He will reward us. When we have a deep desire to please God and grow in His work, we will fight the good fight of faith. We will keep our opponent cowering in a corner, and land punches for the Kingdom that will only impact the lives of others, but give us TKOs in every aspect of life. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.