Fighter

I just went for a run, which means I just listened to all of my kick butt music. I love me some hardcore music as I race to do my 2-3 miles around the neighborhood. I think I look like Rocky. Everybody else thinks I look like a zombie talking to herself.

So I had this song on repeat:

Until the referee rings the bell, Until both your eyes start to swell, Until the crowd goes home, What we gonna do ya'll? Give 'em hell -Turn their heads, Gonna live life till we're dead! Give me scars, Give me pain! Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me - There goes a fighter! There goes a fighter! This one's a fighter! That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me, This one's a fighter.  

- The Fighter by Gym Class Heroes

I love that song!!! I get so pumped! Wanna know why? Because I AM A FIGHTER!!! And so are you! And as I was jammin' out to this song (and feeling so stinkin' tough because of the "give 'em hell" line - not gonna lie), I couldn't help but think about these verses...

1 Corinthians 9:26: 24: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control..." 

1 Timothy 6:12: "Fight the good fight of the faith..." 

Proverbs 24:16: "For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity." 

Psalm 3:3: "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head."

Ya'll, our adversary the Devil is out to utterly destroy us. But we (those of us who have trusted Christ as our Savior) have the HOLY SPIRIT living inside of us - the same Spirit that Ephesians says raised Christ from the dead. So YOU ARE A FIGHTER! Fight WITH Him, not against Him.

What do I mean? Lean into Him, Surrender to Him, Listen to Him. React the way He would react. Live the way He would live. Do things the way He would do things.

And always remember, you are NOT alone. Hebrews says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that He will NEVER leave your side.

So that anxiety, depression, insecurity, anger, addiction, lust, laziness, control, selfishness, lying, personality disorder, harshness, bitterness, gossip, hurt, betrayal - that you don't think you can ever get over? Think again.

Ephesians 1: 15-20: "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you,remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places..."

This ONE's a Fighter.

Submission Means Security

"You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."

-1 Peter 3:6

I love how realistic the NIV is: “Do not give way to fear”. In other words, we as women are going to fear. What was Eve’s first sin? The sin of mistrust…the fear that God was holding out on her. She even stepped over her husband and took matters into her own hands. Sound familiar? We are predestined to be fearful and anxious and I love that God knows that. I think that is why this phrasing in 1 Peter 3 is so precise: “Don’t give in to the feeling…cause after all, that’s all it is…a feeling.” And feelings distort reality.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing…” God knew we would be bent toward anxiety, so He very clearly says to just stop it and to not even go there. Matthew 6:34 explains that we are not to be anxious about tomorrow. Stop for a second and think about how much of your anxiety is about what could happen in the future…the “what if’s”. I am so guilty of this! All of my anxiety and fear is about potential, terrible circumstances that could happen in the future. I am commanded by Scripture not to do this, but to think about what is real right now. I am commanded by Jesus to live in the moment. We are to come before God and leave our anxiety about the future with Him…choosing to be thankful about the past and present. Then, His peace comes and comforts us. You have eradicated the anxiety. All that is left is God’s presence and peace. Pretty cool.

Psalm 141:8 states that God will not leave us defenseless. I can rest in His sovereignty. He is my Protector and has given me my husband to be my protector with skin on. I have to trust God and submit to my husband for our  marriage to work the way it was designed by God. To step out from under my husband and to sin (my way of meeting my needs apart from God) is to bring chaos into my life. Yikes.

“Submission is the single-most precious place of safety and freedom that a woman could ever know. Deep belief and complete trust in Jesus to sustain a wife makes submission to even the most difficult man possible.”

Praise God I am not married to a "difficult man". I am married to an amazingly godly man. However, I am a difficult woman given to fear and anxiety. I need to practice living in the moment and submitting...submitting to God and to my husband. That is where the safety is.

Some resources for further study:

Matt Chandler’s “Marriage and Sanctification” podcast

Mark Driscoll’s “Marriage and Men” and “Marriage and Women” podcasts

“The Resurgence” blog (Mark Driscoll)

Chip Ingram’s podcasts