Fight Less † Pray More

On a day like today, what are you fighting?

Now, if you’re in Frostburg, perhaps it’s the cold, or the urge to watch movies instead of catching up on schoolwork. I will admit that I fought the urge to play in the snow. I lost.

Most of the time when we think of fighting, we think of a confrontation between two or more individuals. These could be physical or verbal fights that eventually led to physical or emotional injury.

However, I want you to focus on fights within yourself and with God.

Please read Genesis 32:22-32.

Okay, maybe none of us have physically fought with God. But how many times have we fought His will? How many times have we let sin overtake us rather than following His way? As you watch Andy Savage’s video, I want you to think about these questions. Click here. 

“He seeks to wrestle with us for our good. He wants to wrestle the dysfunction out of us.”

Andy asks this question: What is the sin that is standing in the way of you fulfilling God’s promise?

When we fight God’s will, we are also fighting the Holy Spirit within us. If we choose to let sin win, we experience fading happiness and then ultimately, guilt. We hold all of this in, while fighting the One who wants to save us, to save us from ourselves.

I want you to think again of Andy’s question.

☆What is the sin that is standing in the way of you fulfilling God’s promise?

Return to Genesis 32:22-32. Now, I want you to consider the kind of man Jacob was. His name literally means, “He deceives” and he lived up to his name. Remember that he and his mother Rebekah cheated his brother, Esau out of his birthright and blessing.

Read over Genesis 32:29. After Jacob had wrestled with God, it was then that he was blessed. God then gave Jacob the name, Israel, which means “he struggles with God.”

It is through Jacob’s story that we see how God blesses the imperfect, not because of who we are, but because of who God is.

So, I ask you again. What is the sin that is standing in the way of you fulfilling God’s promise?

Please end in the prayer below or a prayer of your own.

Dear God, You know my sin and yet You still call me Your own. I thank You for loving me unconditionally. This sin of_____ has continued to rule my life and I am now giving You control. Please forgive what I have done and give me the strength to live my life to fulfill Your purpose. Amen.  

**Photo from Tumblr.