I always love a good pep talk. My favorite part in many movies is the part where troops are rallied or the main character gets a jolt of strength from recalled wisdom. These moments seem to give a bird’s eye view in the middle of heated circumstances offering the perspective needed to carry on. In similar fashion, I write this for you, for I have found that even when life seems to be relatively uneventful, the ordinary and mundane can whittle away our perspective if we allow it. Let us not lose sight of who we are fighting for, who we are up against or where we are going, whether we are in the thick of battling the hard things in life or going to another day of work. Let us not forget that we are participants in a great story. Let us not forget who we are.
We have often heard about the powerful impact our story can have on others as we live openly and talk about Jesus’ presence in our lives. However, I have realized that I have to get good at preaching truth to my own heart and soul before I can effectively share with others. So, here is how my pep talk to myself goes.
Who am I fighting for? What is He like? I fight for God, and He is incredibly powerful. “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all of these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength NOT ONE of them is missing…Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” He is incredibly good. “…He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Is. 40:26,28, NIV). He is incredibly gracious and compassionate. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:4, 13, ESV).
Who am I up against? “… Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8, NIV).” “…He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth , for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, NIV).
Who am I? What is true of me? I am free. “For the law of the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2, ESV). I belong because I am a child of the most high God. “…you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by who we cry ‘Abba! Father!’…and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…” (Rom. 8:15, 17, ESV). I am part of a great heritage of faithful fighters. “We do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved” (Heb. 10:39, NIV).
So why do I keep fighting for truth and striving to run this race with excellence? I fight and run to win! “I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Cor. 9:24-25, ESV). I am a participant a GREAT story where God crushes all my enemies and makes me more like Him. “…He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away… Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 3-5, ESV).
This God who is incredibly powerful, good and gracious saw fit to save me! He stepped in to my family’s history and drew close to my grandparents and parents so that I might have the chance to know him. He rescued me from the power of darkness and my enemy the devil who would seek to keep me bound in lies. He has forever changed my identity to be a free, dearly loved child adopted into a new family of faith. He is too big and has brought me too far for me to quit. Hallelujah!! This is the perspective that keeps me going and the pep talk that gives me the tenacity I need to engage daily. So let’s go! It’s time to get off the bench, out of the huddle, back onto the battlefield and into the game.
Sophia Howard