TRAIN LIKE A FIGHTER

Today’s Focus: Your trials and struggles are actually helping you become more disciplined and effective in winning your battles.

Have you ever had a sparring partner?

If you haven’t participated in any martial arts or combat sports, sparring may seem like a foreign concept. Yet for any fighter to be successful, this practice is essential.

The sparring partner’s role is to work for you by fighting against you.

The sparring partner knows your weaknesses and what you need to improve the most, and will likely attack the area that you are most vulnerable until you get better at defending yourself and countering the attacks more effectively.

Trials have the same role in the life of the Christian creative.

While the enemy may have brought them into your life in an effort to knock you down and take you out, the ultimate Trainer, our Father, actually employs trials and struggles to be your sparring partners.

That doesn’t make the sparring partner any more lenient.

The objective remains the same - to expose your weakness and give you the fight of your life.

But at the end of the day, you will benefit from the experience.

When James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,” we are introduced to the concept of trials being a welcomed guest instead of a foreboding and unwelcome visitor (James 1:2-3, NIV).

Our trials are partners in our progression to perfection.

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield calls these trials collectively “The Resistance.”

And while he correctly identifies the forces that try to stop you from creating, he leaves out the important point that the resistance actually makes you stronger.

What do these trials look like specifically in the life of a creator?

Each of your sparring partners has a D in their first names:

• Delay
• Doubt
• Denial
• Discouragement

You'll recognize each of them by their signature method of attack.

Delay likes to hit you in the face with the realization that your dreams are going to take way longer than you think.

Doubt’s signature move is a chokehold - like when you see your financial resources don’t cover your upcoming commitments.

Denial kicks you in the shins when that audition or proposal is rejected…again.

Discouragement pushes your face into the canvas as you compare yourself to other creators who seemingly have no problem reaching their goals and enjoying success.

But don’t forget - each one of these sparring partners is on God’s payroll.

Every time you are tempted to complain when trials come into your life, remember who employs them.

Then remember your job is to see the strategy coming, anticipate it, and prove you’ve learned how to overcome it.

Next, we’ll look at ways to make sure you maintain your ground after you start winning these battles.

APPLICATION FOR TODAY

Identify the trial, struggle, or opposition that has caused you frustration this week. Then ask yourself - How can this trial actually help me to become stronger, more aware of my weakness, or more battle-tested? Pray for endurance and patience to withstand the season of sparring, and ask God to help you see the positive results of learning to fight in the midst of testing.