Worth Fighting For

July 15th, 2022

Today's blog is from the heart of one of our speakers, Frank Figueroa. Join us as Frank reminds us of what is truly worth going to battle for.

When I was younger, I remember my parents offering me some particular advice with regard to certain difficult decisions, “You have to decide whether it’s worth fighting for.” Comments with similar meanings are used many times in our world and have often even been passed off as being too cliché. Little did I realize that this is not only a stable platform from which to make serious decisions, but it is also one rooted in God’s Word and shares a heart after God. Allow me to explain.

2 Samuel 23:8-12
These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: . . . Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, . . . He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. . . . The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.

The words “mighty men” in the Hebrew means men who were great, valued, or intense—people who were important, powerful, and ultimately able to do great things. But one of these mighty men really stood out to me: Eleazar.

So then, what has God given us? What do we have that is worth fighting for?

The Lord honored the faith and courage of David and Eleazar and gave Israel a great victory! But it’s not enough to observe the fight, we need to understand why the fight is worth fighting? Why should they have risked their lives to defend a field of lentils and barley? Because the land belonged to the Lord—that’s why! Leviticus 25:23 states,
“The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.”

In Leviticus 18:24–30, we see the principle established that God didn’t want the defiled Philistines to control what belonged to God, and neither should we. Therefore, we must stand and fight! So then, what has God given us? What do we have that is worth fighting for? I’d like to point out what I believe are our three greatest gifts.

Our Relationship with God Himself

Scripture clearly points out that God is the initiator of the relationship we are in with Him. He chose Israel, not because they were special, but because He loved them. The same was true for Jesus’ disciples, as He plainly told them in John 15:16a, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you . . .” All of us have been pursued by God and drawn into a relationship with Him because of His love for us; to reciprocate this love is what is required to strengthen that relationship. As James tells us, we must, “submit ourselves to God” and cling to Him. Many entities try to separate us from the loving relationship we are in with our Father—some from within, and some that bring conflict from without. Whatever the case may be, we are compelled to conclude that our relationship with God, through the person of His Son Jesus, is worth fighting for.

Have you sought His face today in ample time of prayer?

Have you devoted a portion of our day to having Him speak to us through His word?

Have you spent at least as much time feeding the spirit as you have feeding the flesh?

As you take an inventory of your time allotments, allow your grip to be strengthened and raise the Sword of the Spirit to defend the most precious of all relationships—the one with our Heavenly Father.

The Spouse that God Has Given

It’s very interesting to me, that immediately following the fall, Adam blamed God for giving him what up to this point was a blessing. When God created the woman for the man in Genesis chapter 2, he was ecstatic! But when Adam neglected His relationship with God, the relationship with his wife also suffered. “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate’ ” (Genesis 3:12). In one sweeping statement, Adam desecrated both of his relationships . . . first, by blaming God for giving him the woman, and then trying to pass the guilt of his sin onto his wife. Adam’s dilemma was compounded by the fact that he was fighting with his wife and not fighting for her!

Are you following His example in how you treat your spouse?

Within the husband and wife relationship, God has allowed us to be more interconnected with one person than with anyone else on the planet, which is why Jesus said, “The two shall become one flesh” (Mark 10:8). Within the pages of Scripture, we have some of the most horrific sins committed within the marital relationships: deceitful plotting, lying, adultery, etc. But if this is all we see, we have missed out on the fact that a marriage should be a reflection of the relationship of Jesus to the Church! Are you following His example in how you treat your spouse? He will never leave us! He will never forsake us! He will always be faithful to us! He will never divorce us!

In short, when sin became the obstacle that separated us, He went to the cross and died for us because He believed we were worth fighting for! Therefore, if our marriage is a reflection of our relationship with Jesus, we need to stand and fight! Pray for your spouse! Love your spouse! Defend your spouse, both in body and in character! Cling to one another and encourage one another in God’s Word! As we stand at the precipice of the battle, our grip strengthens, and we will stand and fight because our marriage is worth fighting for!

The Children We Have Been Blessed With

As adults, we clearly understand that the fight also rages for the souls of our children. As parents, we walk a really fine line between trying to be both parent and friend and striving to mentor our offspring in the direction we are going as we pursue the person of Jesus. Not only is this challenging, but as they get older, it can become downright combative.

We are warned about this concept in Ephesians 6:4 “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” So not only are we to train them, but we cannot provoke them within the process, as this will hinder growth rather than nurture it. Ironically, this concept has led many parents to become timid and surrender their children to their own whims and desires, rather than encouraging biblical thinking to pursue what the Lord wants for them.

This task may seem daunting, but the souls of the only people we are responsible for are at stake, so retreating is not an option!

Allow me to remind you that we have been given authority over our children and a responsibility to teach them God’s Word until they are in another family relationship. Therefore, we must stand and fight! How do we do that? Deuteronomy 6:6-9 gives us a clear strategy: "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Pray for them! Talk with them! Walk with them! Write it down for them! Live the example for them! Put “following Jesus” on display for them within our homes! And, this should happen from the time we get up until the time we go to sleep—every . . . single . . . day.

This task may seem daunting, but the souls of the only people we are responsible for are at stake, so retreating is not an option! Do we feel the weight of the sword? Is the impression of the handle one with our palm? Is the blade an extension of our own arm? Are we war-weary and exhausted? If the answer to any of these questions is not, “Yes,” then there is a change that needs to occur, for what is at stake is far more valuable than what world wars have been fought over.

These are the things that God has given and must be defended at all costs. “What is worth fighting for?” can be answered by one simple word . . . family. God has seen fit, by His divine plan and purpose for us, to place these people within our lives in the most intimate ways that humans can be interconnected, and these relationships are worth fighting for!

Therefore, we must tighten our grip on the hilt and allow the blade to flash in whatever direction the Lord may lead! Not until it sticks to our hand and our resolve is made clear, being forged in the battle we were chosen to endure, will we truly understand that whatever God has given to us is worth fighting for!

To learn more about Frank Figueroa or to book him as a speaker, please click HERE.

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