Fight It Out

Fight It Out


“Come now, let us argue this out,” says the Lord. “No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow…”
Isaiah 1:18 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION


I finished the last question on a computer test. The hard drive churned and the red line came up on-screen, I had failed. I studied hard, went to the classes and still failed. I was embarrassed and bewildered at how this could happen. Sure, it was difficult material, but I had prepared for the test. I did everything I was supposed to do and I still failed. I thought to myself, “What is the point of all that study and prayer? God didn’t help; study didn’t help. I must be doomed or created to fail.”

I came home after failing the test and refused to speak with my wife. I was embarrassed for her to see me. I bolted straight to the bedroom, closed the door and set my mind to know and understand that God did not exist. If He did, I would not have failed. In my head, I could hear those TV evangelists speaking so proudly about getting everything they wanted and more because they refused to let Satan in and how they demanded that they be blessed because of God’s word, blah, blah, blah. I concluded chance is what really happens to us, not some all knowing big God-dude that if he existed; he is primarily there to crush our dreams.

As I sat there brooding in my room, something happened. I swear I could feel “something” tugging at my shirt, like a small child pulling on mom’s clothes to get her attention. The “something” was saying, “Come on, and let’s work this thing out. Don’t be this way, I love you.” Who or what do you think that was?

What do you do when life starts hurting? How do you handle guilt, disappointment and anger? Do you let those things keep you from going to God? Have you ever seen God as broken, hurting and abandoned? “Let’s argue this out,” God says through the prophet Isaiah. God is not yet ready to let go. He wants you to fight it out with Him. The NEW LIVING TRANSLATION uses the word “reason” instead of argue. But I like the word “argue”. To me “reason” suggests a soft and civil discussion. “Argue” suggests extreme emotion. Sometimes, life does not leave us in a position to be calm and soft. Sometimes we need to fight for what is right and most important.

God is looking for you to struggle with Him and sometimes have a big-time brawl. That is how success works. If something were easy to do, then it would have little value. My relationship with God is a struggle at times. We fight, He always wins, but I come away with a lesson and a new respect for the Father. After we argued, spit and cursed, I retook the test. And I passed.