I love movies. I’ve always enjoyed watching stories come alive on screen, especially when those stories are inspiring, and even more, when they’re true.
My favorite types of stories are what I call “underdog” stories. You know the kind—tales of someone fighting from the bottom, through trial after trial, to reach their dream.
Perhaps I love these stories because they inspire me. They push me to fight to no end for the miracles I’m believing God for.
Throughout Scripture, we see how important this passion is to the outcome of our prayers. Miracles have always required faith, and faith has always required fight—fight that relies upon the supernatural strength of our Heavenly Father.
We find proof of this in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 when Paul writes: “I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
As Christians, we’ve got to focus right and fight hard if we want to reach all God has for us.
King David was a solid example of this. He fought through much difficulty, some that was handed to him, and some that was the consequence of his own mistakes. Still, he didn’t let his inferior start or poor decisions define him. He continually pressed on in courage and fought faithfully for the life God had in store.
So what can we learn from this? What’s the real-life underdog’s pattern for success? The lives of both the Apostle Paul and King David tell us: we’ve got to live convinced and committed.
First, we’ve got to embrace each day fully persuaded that what God says about our lives is true. Why? Because you never see a boxer training hard for a fight that he doesn’t believe he can win. You never see a football team practicing for a championship title they don’t believe they can earn. Firm persuasion is the only way we’ll fight for our prize.
Then, we’ve got to put that persuasion into practice. We must discipline ourselves to do what God says will bring about our miracle.
Friends, miracles don’t come when we simply beg God to bless us. They come when we rise out of difficulty and fight for His story to come to pass—when we live fully convinced of God’s ways and remain committed to them through action.
As Paul says in Philippians 3:14, it’s when we “press on to reach the end of the race” that we “receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Whatever difficulty you find yourself in today, I encourage you—don’t let it define you. Instead, let the dream God has for you inspire you to press on. What looks like a mess can become a message of God’s faithfulness! Just keep fighting the good fight of faith!
