The Boxing Ring

I love watching boxing highlights of Muhammad Ali. He is regarded as not only the greatest heavyweight boxer the world has ever seen, but also as one of the greatest showman that ever lived. No one, even to this day, could captivate a crowd and fill the air with as much life as Ali did.

Yet despite his show and ability to perform when all eyes are on him, one of his famous quotes is, “The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” Ali understood the value of time spent on his craft behind the scenes. His fights were won in the gym, practicing, and training when nobody was around.

We are also in a fight. We may not be fighting physical opponents such as Muhammad Ali, but there is a spiritual war constantly taking place behind the scenes. There is an enemy whose job it is to kill, steal, and destroy everything good about our lives and our families. Every day we wake up, it is our job to put on our boxing gloves, step in the ring, and fight the spiritual forces of darkness. So how do we do that?

Like a great coach, Paul gives us insight into the key to spiritual victory found in the book of Galatians. He says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16-17, 24-25)

According to Paul, even though Jesus has already won the victory when he died on the cross and rose again, there is still a fight taking place within us. In one corner of ring we have the flesh, and another corner we have the spirit. The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. Rather than using natural weapons of this world to beat the flesh, Paul encourages us to use the spiritual weapons of warfare.

He says, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Just like Muhammad Ali’s quote, the fight isn’t won in front of a big crowd or when the spotlight is on us. The fight is won by practicing the presence of God with prayer, thanksgiving, and worship in our daily lives. This is a challenge because of the lie that culture tells us that if people don’t see a big victory then it must not be significant. But like a seed that is planted underground, just because it is hidden doesn’t mean it isn’t effective. What is done in our daily practice will eventually prove to be fruitful. So keep fighting the good fight of faith behind the scenes and watch God move when the spotlights are on.

The Bigger Picture: The spiritual victory is won supernaturally with prayer, worship, and gratitude behind the scenes before we enter the battles of life.