Fight On

The year is 1892. The place is New Orleans and we are just in time for a major boxing event. It will be the first time it is fought under the new Marquess of Queensbury’s rule and gloves will be used. Before this time, fights were fought bare knuckle and without rules causing the fight to not be “respectable”! The challenger was “Gentleman Jim” Corbett and the favorite was heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan. The fight goes for twenty-two rounds and Sullivan is defeated.

The year is 1942 and we are aboard the battleship USS Washington. We are in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean fighting furiously to prevent the threats to U.S. and British shipping by German U-boats. The allied losses have been heavy. It is during this time the following words came over the intercom to encourage the sailors to continue performing their duties under these stressful wartime conditions:

Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one in the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round- remembering that the man who always fights on more round is never whipped!

“Gentleman Jim” Corbett

The time is now! We all have times when we are ready to quit something. We face everyday problems that require great patience. We become weary and want to toss in the towel. It could be major health issues that don’t seem to go away, problems within the family unit, addictions-former and recent, the job and always the paycheck. Most people live from one paycheck to the next one just to put food on the table and gas in the car.

It’s time to get into the Scriptures-the Living Word- and begin to apply it to our lives. We have a scripture in 1 Timothy 6:12 that tells us to “fight the good fight”.

1 Corinthians 16:13 reads, “stand firm in the faith, be men/women of courage; be strong.”

Hebrews 12:1, “let us run with endurance the race (life) that is set before us, looking to Jesus.”

Standing up in faith and to fight one more round makes a difference.

In my bedroom, I have a little sign that I look at every morning and night:

You never fail until you stop trying.

I want to share with you Habakkuk 3:17-18 because it leaves us with a positive thought:

Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the penand no cattle in the stalls, YET I will triumph in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! Yahweh my Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to talk on mountain heights.

In simplistic words just FIGHT ON in the Lord’s strength.