Over the last couple of years, I have become a huge fan of the History Channel. Their shows are so intriguing and really cause you to stop and think about the world around you and how it got to be the way it is. I often find myself getting caught up in some historical series and evaluating whether or not the facts presented are biased. It wasn't until recently I learned the History Channel serves more than just presenting information.
Lately, I have been feeling the urgency to get various tasks accomplished and scratch them off my To-Do-List. However, my greatest challenge and struggle has been dealing emotionally with the disappointments and frustrations in not getting them done. I have realized that I have spent more time organizing, arranging and rearranging the tasks that I don't actually get them accomplished. I focus so much on the bigger picture and the end result that I miss the road in front of me and often fall/fail because I miss the warnings or venture in the wrong directions.
About three weeks ago, I woke up on Saturday morning to the television on and there was a show on the History Channel describing the events that led to the fall of a Civil War General. As I watched, I soon came to realize that it wasn't just loosing the final battle that brought about the downfall of this general, but it was about all the little events that happened along the way that made the greatest difference: the traitors, loss of men, loss of resources, financial struggles, etc.
And then it dawned on me! My success in life, work, and home is not about the end product but about winning all of the smaller battles that occur along the way! It's about all of the little events that end up directly affecting the end product and if I ignore those little events I will actually miss the end product.
As I begin to think more on this topic, I then begin to think about my Christian journey and what God says about winning this war for my peace, sanity, victory! There are very few scriptures that He gives us as "war instructions" that focus on the end product which is the spiritual war at hand. Most of the scriptures direct us to focus on the smaller battles which have a direct affect on the war. His attempt is for us to be Battle Ready (because He knows we will face more little battles) than War Victorious. He doesn't ask that we change all of us at one time but He tries to focus our attention on one flaw and then then next. He doesn't ask us to completely stop sinning but He helps us take one step at a time to becoming more and more righteous. He doesn't tell us that when we approach the starting line that we will immediately arrive at the end but He helps us focus on running the race not necessarily winning the race.
As I look at my own life and my successes and failures, I realize that I must take heart in the smaller battles and their victories than focusing on the entire war. I must focus my attention on each piece of armor (Ephesian 6:10-20) rather than the whole suit of armor. I must focus my attention on each part of my body like taming my tongue (James 3:1-12) or protecting my eyes (Proverbs 21:4) than fixing my entire body at one time. I must focus on winning the battles and not necessarily on winning the war (2 Corinthians 10:3).
