I have never gotten the appeal of boxing. Two guys hitting each other into a bloody pulp. Yeah, it’s not for me. But I will take advantage of a boxing analogy today to illustrate an important aspect of victory.

Boxers are trained to keep their hands up to protect their face, to keep their feet moving so they cannot be caught off guard. They are also trained to take a hit.

It’s boxing! So, they are guaranteed to get more than a few times in each fight. But there are good ways to take a hit and bad ways.

Spiritually speaking, we need to be prepared to take a hit. Are we promised a life of health and wealth? Quite the opposite! (See Matthew 5:10-12, John 15:20, I Corinthians 4:12, II Corinthians 4:9)

In John 16:33, Jesus tells us to take heart – the world will attack, but he has overcome the world. In other words, we may take a hit, we may lose a battle, but he has already won the war and ultimate victory is ours with him!

So, how do we train to take a hit?

·       Don’t be surprised by the hit (John 15:20).

·       Don’t be defeated by the hit (John 16:33).

·       Don’t lose sight of the trainer (Hebrews 12:2).

·       Consider it as pure joy and a growth opportunity (James 1:2-4).

This week, we close our focus on spiritual training for victory with training to take a hit. There will be two more blogs on victory next week before we transition to a focus on Joy and Contentment.

Have some thoughts on those topics? Please share! We would love to include your stories and your input. Just email us at ironrosesister@gmail.com