‘Til the Battle is Won
- The Narrow Path
- Feb 4, 2022
- 3 min read
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, ESV).
I’ve been a University of Kentucky sports fan my entire life. For as long as I can remember, I’ve bled blue, and my level of happiness occasionally rises and falls based on the win-loss column, especially during basketball season. And, like any good UK fan, I know the fight song by heart:
On, On, U of K. We are right for the fight today. Hold that ball and hit that line; Every Wildcat star will shine. We’ll fight, fight, fight For the blue and white, As we roll to that goal, varsity. And we’ll kick, pass and run ‘Til the battle is won, And we’ll bring home the victory.
To those of you who also know the song by heart and now have it stuck in your head, my apologies! But it’s a pretty good jingle. The last two lines are my favorite as we’re rooting our team toward winning the battle and bringing home the victory.
Have you ever found yourself in a battle? Maybe on the football field or the basketball court, in the classroom, or in the courtroom. Some of you have even gone to war for our country on a literal battlefield. We’ve all been there at one time or another, but, as a follower of Jesus, I’ve come to understand that often our greatest battles are the ones fought on the battlefield of the mind.
The enemy attacks our minds because he knows if he can get to our thoughts, he can slowly begin to affect our actions, and ultimately, he wants to try to change our hearts. As I’ve stepped out into some new endeavors related to The Narrow Path over the past few weeks, the enemy has attempted to come against that obedience by pushing my thoughts into a negative place. Because of various circumstances, I suddenly found myself feeling overwhelmed and wanting to quit. It was absolutely a battle for my thoughts!
That afternoon I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 10:3–5, which reminds us that the greatest weapon we have against the enemy when it comes to fighting the battles of our thoughts is that we must take them to Christ. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
After a brief conversation with a friend and an unexpected, yet timely, message of specific encouragement regarding The Narrow Path from a friend I hadn’t spoken to in a long time, I was feeling much better and able to push forward into another step of obedience. By the time all was said and done that day, though my body felt fine, my mind, heart, and soul had been fighting a battle that left me feeling completely exhausted. Pushing forward in obedience to whatever God is calling you toward is not easy, but it’s always worth it.
The next time you find yourself in a battle of any kind, keep fighting and remember that when you’re on Team Jesus, because of His sacrifice on the cross, the battle has already been won.
PS Go CATS!!
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