the fight of faith

The following are some thoughts stirred up by a message from Tyler David (excerpts from his message italicized and in "quotes" below). Tyler is one of several teaching elders/pastors in my former church.

"One of the most conscious and consistent ways you can love God is by striving (battling/fighting) to live for his will more (rather) than our own." 

"The constant for the Christian is the fight against sin (i.e. unbelief or distrust)."

"Faith does not make you sinless it makes you fight." 

Some related thoughts:

I would add that faith is the fight i.e. fighting to trust or not trust God is at the heart of the battle against sin. 

The essence or heart of sin (all ⁴wrong/ bad actions) is distrust in God. Was this not at the heart of Adam and Eve's rebellion?

When do we choose relief - i.e. self-comforting through some temporary gratification to ease our pain - over the fight against unbelief? When we stop believing that what we are fighting for (i.e. Gods way and design) is better-more rewarding than immediate relief from the pain of pursuing God. Denying ourselves immediate gratification - i.e. taking up our cross - is painful. That's why it's called a cross. 

To say this another way, when we believe what we are getting, from some form of immediate gratification, is better and more rewarding than what we are giving up long term - i.e. the delayed gratification promised by God - we stop our faithful pursuit of Him.

"You should never be discouraged because you ¹always are in the fight, you should be discouraged (concerned) if you wish to no longer engage in the fight."

The problem with indulging in our natural human desires is they only give temporary satisfaction and always have negative repercussions; if not immediately, eventually, and particularly in eternity.

1Pe 2:21 "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps (i.e. suffer like him). 22 He committed no sin, (he never stopped trusting or turned away from God in his suffering), neither was deceit found in his mouth." i.e. not only were his actions right but everything he said was true, not misleading...

1Pe 2:23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but instead he continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly (Christ never stopped believing his Father's goodness and that His Father always did good and right by him in all he called him to say, do, and allowed him to go through/ experience, even in the midst of His experiencing great opposition). 

22 He committed no sin... i.e.  Jesus'  attitude was "I am going to trust the promises of my Father over the comforts/ promises of sin, even if that means suffering loss of relief in the moment."  This was the essence of his response to the satan (the deceiver and accuser) when He was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness. Because Christ did this, it enabled him to suffer well (endure) and not verbally lash out or strike back at those who caused his pain, i.e. Christ was long-suffering... He suffered over an extended period.

What is natural for you (us) without God in your life is actually contrary to what is best for you according to God's design/will.

Seeking immediate gratification or comfort is only natural because of our present state of pain due to our rebellion...not because of our original design, but rebellion to that design (and the Designer).

Our natural (fallen untrusting) heart seeks to find life apart from God, when it's just not possible (at least long term), simply because we are designed by God and for God and therefore can only find true meaning, fulfillment and purpose in and through God. This is the only way, simply because it is the way we are made as His image bearers, designed to receive and reflect back His love to Him and out to others.

That's not saying we can not find any meaning-fulfillment-purpose outside of God (we obviously can and do), just not lasting meaning, fulfillment and purpose and therefore not true meaning-fulfillment-purpose i.e. whatever we do find or gain apart from God is temporary and superficial.

The immediate comfort, relief and meaning we are able to obtain appears to be true because it is what we are experiencing "in the moment" i.e. It is what seems most real only because it is what we are presently experiencing. Yet when the moment passes we find ourselves left still wanting and looking again, never truly or fully finding what we seek.

What comes natural to you and me, leads to death. What seems most enjoyable and satisfying in the moment is usually what is most harmful and destructive long term.

What is actually best for us is contrary to what we naturally desire. This in itself is evidence of the power and deception of sin; of our blindness and unbelief i.e. that which brings us greatest satisfaction or relief in the moment is actually a means to our ultimate destruction, not our best long term. This is the essence of why Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Faith and trust in God is not what comes "natural" to us (it is supernatural) i.e. it must be God focused and inspired. 

Choosing God must be a conscious, deliberate choice. A choice based on the promises of God and who He is. A choice that believes God keeps his promises and what He calls us to is better than what we are naturally inclined to. In our present fallen condition and without the Spirit of God revealing to us the beauty of God, we default to distrust in God, seeking things to satisfy us apart from Him. In short, to use the biblical expression, we seek to be our own god.

We are so utterly blind to the love and goodness of God we choose to pursue that which results in our ultimate destruction instead of Him who is life. The true nature of our condition is ²we would not seek or pursue God at all if He did not reveal His beauty and loveliness to us.

Of course, the opposite is true. What is often hardest and most painful, most faith demanding is usually what is best for us. Not short term, but long term; not in the moment but in eternity, where it matters most.

And this is where faith comes in. God tells us death to (or loss of) temporary pleasures ultimately increases our capacity and experience of life (God) now but but even more importantly, in eternity. Delayed gratification can only happen by faith. 

So it all comes down to faith. What (who) do we believe knows best and is best. Do we believe God and what he tells us (promises) is best or do we latch on to the immediate pleasure of something (or someone) other than God, believing it is best?

This was the choice presented to Adam and Eve in the beginning. They chose the latter (being their own god i.e. to sustain themselves apart from God), which we still are naturally inclined toward to this very day.

The greatest source - generator and instiller of trust in God's love for us and his desire for our good, is Jesus. If or when you are tempted to question the love and goodness of God, look at Jesus - what he deliberately and willfully put himself through for us, for you - to restore us back to our Father. 

Why would he do that? Why would he and the Father agree to do for us what we needed most and could never do for ourselves when we totally rejected him and the life he alone gives? WHY!!?? It is certainly not because God needed to or felt he had to fix the mess we felt He created (he actually didn't but from our perspective we think he did) by allowing man to make a choice to reject him, when he knew we would.

But we would not truly be like God if we did not have our own understanding (ability to think/reason) and choice.

A most important prayer

God help me to see you more and more in all your beauty, goodness and love so that I might fall more in love with you and entrust myself more fully into your care so I might live more fully for your honor and glory.

Participating in God's love more fully

Often a key way God reveals himself more fully to us is in our acting in faith that he is exactly who he claims to be; God is most beautiful, lovely, trustworthy and good even if we can't see it at the time. 

Trusting God is exactly who he claims to be, brings God honor and joy. 

Christ also tells us if we are faithful in a little, we will be entrusted with more.

Not just greater resources necessarily, but greater responsibility and the resources needed to carry it out. He who is faithful with a little is given more but also to him whom much is given much is required.

So when we step out in obedience by faith, we do so believing God is exactly who he claims to be and will do what he promises, while also asking God to reveal who He is more fully.

We all must operate by faith

Everyone has a trust issue, i.e. no one can operate without trusting someone or something. The reason is simple; we are not all-knowing/wise or all-powerful. We don't have all the information we need to know whether we are taking the best course of action and even if we did know, we don't have the ability (power) to act/execute the task according to that knowledge.

A primary way we attempt to handle this is by dismissing the reality that there is design in the world (the unbelieving hearf says there is no designer. Everything came about by chance over a long period of time i.e. it evolved vs created). This enables us to justify not living according to God's will/design. 

However, if there is design, there is a right and wrong way to operate i.e. we should operate according to how things are designed to operate (i.e. in harmony with God, the designer). If we do, we are in harmony with how things operate and if we don't; we are not i.e. doing things a certain way matters. To not be in harmony means we are in disharmony i.e. operating in conflict, discord, friction, etc. This leads to destruction; our crashing and burning, so to speak.

We may despise the battle - the fight of faith - but love the fruit i.e. a closer union with God. If and when we discover the best way to obtain fruit is in and through the battle, we learn to ³love the battle as much as we love the fruit.

For a further discussion on how the righteous live by faith, click here.

For a further discussion on the anatomy of motivation, click here. 

For a further discussion on how faith is hard work click here
_______________________________

¹Always being in the fight of faith is a common experience because we are broken [untrusting] and living in a broken (unbelieving/rebellious) world. Expect it, don't be surprised by it.

²whatever desire for God or joy we find/experience in seeking God is only because God has awakened our heart by his love.

To do so God often has to allow us to go through great pain 1st.  For more on this click here.

³i.e. to love the means as well as the end.

⁴at the heart of all good and right actions is faith i.e. trust in God.