Friday Family Devo: FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT! (Part 1)


Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn.

This life is a battleground in more ways than one. It is a fight between good and evil. God is good. The devil is evil. We all pick sides whether we mean to or not. If we don’t mean to, we’ve picked the wrong side. There’s only one way to join God’s good army and that’s to mean to through faith in Jesus.

We sometimes talk about “fighting the good fight,” a biblical term (1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7) that doesn’t mean a literal fistfight at all. It usually means teaching, influencing, and working to overcome and replace something wrong with something right. It means we’re not just trying to do what pleases us selfishly but doing what will benefit many people. That’s what we call “the greater good,” and it’s what “the good fight” is all about. So, when the Bible talks about fighting the good fight, it's not about punching or kicking. It's about standing up for what's right, even when it's hard. 

Here's how to fight the good fight:

  • Be faithful to God. Faith is your shield (Ephesians 6:16). Faith means trusting in God even when it doesn’t look like a good idea. God never lies (Titus 1:2) and will never leave us if we trust Him (Hebrews 13:5). 
  • Pray every day. God listens to His children’s prayers, and He promises us (remember, He never lies, which also means He never breaks promises) that if we get closer to Him, He’ll get closer to us (James 4:8). Talking to Him is one of the ways we get closer to God.
  • Read and study the Bible. This is another way we get closer to God. We talk to Him in our prayers, and He speaks to us in His word, the Bible. The Bible tells us how to live and what to say when we’re challenged (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
  • Be kind and choose to love people even when it’s difficult. Kindness and love are powerful weapons for good. When you act in love, which means unselfishness, even to those who may not like you, you're fighting with the strongest weapon there is. Be as kind as possible for as long as possible. Sometimes, we must boldly debate and stand up for truth in uncomfortable ways, but even then, it’s most effective if we remain calm and focused and don’t lose our tempers (James 1:20). 

Discuss:

  • Everyone picks a side in the battle between good and evil, whether they realize it or not. How can we tell if we are on God's side? What are some practical ways we can ensure we are actively choosing to be part of God's “good army” through our daily actions and decisions?
  • Kindness and love are powerful weapons in fighting the good fight. Can you think of a time when you or someone you know used kindness or love to overcome a difficult situation or to stand up for what's right? How did it affect the outcome compared to if a more confrontational approach had been used? 

This week, we learned about fighting the good fight. Unfortunately, there are fights happening all around our world that aren’t good. Pray together for peace and that more and more people will learn Jesus’ way of peace. 

—JLP


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