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Holy living is a lifelong struggle
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight [agonidzou agona] of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (NKJV)
All of life in Christ to the Apostle Paul was a struggle
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight [agona ehgonismai] , I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (NKJV)
AGONIDZOMAI, the word we have been seeing in these verses is translated into English AV – strive 3, fight 3, labor fervently 1; 7
It means 1) to enter a contest: contend in the gymnastic games
2) to contend with adversaries, fight
3) metaph. to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers
4) to endeavor with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something
And that is what we are called to as Christians!
Abraham struggled as he learned to wait. He waited 25 years to see the promises of God fulfilled. Abraham is a fellow pilgrim struggling on the road of faith. He grew in faith, waiting for what had been promised.
We have been studying the lives of fellow strugglers in this Sunday evening series. Each of them has been so powerful as God exposes their lives in the Scriptures.