Committed To The Fight

Committed to the Fight

A time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. . . . Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. 2 Timothy 4:3-5

One of the great, courageous leaders of the twentieth century was Sir Winston Churchill. His first speech as prime minister was delivered in the face of insurmountable odds as Hitler’s Nazi forces were rampaging through Western Europe during World War II. On May 13, 1940, on radios heard round the world, Churchill addressed the British House of Commons:

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. . . .You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.^a

On June 4, Churchill’s words helped weld the iron pillar of commitment, courage, and hope of his great nation against Hitler:

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. . . . We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.^b

Two weeks later, at the end of the aptly named speech “Their Finest Hour,” Churchill said, “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”^c

England’s worst times were turned ultimately into its best. The people refused to give in and in that commitment overcame tremendous obstacles while being handicapped at every turn. They believed they could prevail and refused to give in or give up, staying the course and achieving victory.

Let’s face it: we will run into trials and tribulations. Many people will try to pull us in different directions that are not the way we know God wants us to go. And yet, we need to keep a clear head in the middle of all of that and hold on to His Word.

Do you need to momentarily clear your head about something that has made you question whether you are committed to things that honor God? Do so now.

Uncommon Key > The best way to maintain a clear mind is to know the mind of Christ by meditating often on His Word. Ask yourself that familiar question: “What would Jesus do?”

^a Winston Churchill, Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches, ed., Winston S. Churchill (New York: Hyperion, 2003), 206

^b Ibid., 218.

^c Ibid., 220.