IN THE ARENA
On April 23, 1910, President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic” at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. The speech became popularly known as “The Man In the Arena” because of the following section of the speech which struck a note in the hearts and minds of those who heard his words and were inspired by them. He said:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who
points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have
done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs,
who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and
shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at
the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the
worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place
shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor
defeat.”
I was impressed with the truth of these words when I
heard someone quote them recently. I had
been meditating on the idea of the arena in respect to the individual spiritual
battles which we all face as Christians.
It was only a few days later that I heard this quote and knew that this
was no coincidence.
It is true, critics are a dime a dozen. There is no end to those who will point out
every flaw in our performance, but will not enter the arena themselves, nor get
their own hands dirty with the struggle.
It is the competitor, contestant, athlete, contender, combatant, and
warrior who really matters. Win or lose,
they are the ones who are in the trenches, the ones who are striving for the
mastery. Each battle, each contest, is making them
stronger for the next, and gives them valuable experience and the hope that
they will ultimately prevail. As Teddy
said, “…there is no effort without error and shortcoming…” And as Solomon said, “…a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked
shall fall into mischief.” (Proverbs 24:16).
The word “arena”
was not used in English until the early 1600’s.
It
comes from the Latin word “harena”,
which means "sand" or "sandy place". This
referred to the practice of spreading fine sand on the floor of the coliseums in
ancient Rome to absorb the blood of the combatants who competed in the Roman
gladiatorial contests. It was,
therefore, used early on to describe a place of combat, and later came to refer
to sporting events as well.
We
all face times of combat and struggle.
Most generally, the battles that we face are one-on-one with the enemy
of our souls. They occur when we are
alone, and we are forced to depend on our faith in God’s Word and on His
promises in order to persevere and overcome.
It is there, also, that we are forced to face our own weaknesses and
allow God to turn them into strengths.
As the Lord told Paul, “My
strength is made perfect in [your]
weakness.” Paul understood this
principle, and he exhorted the believers in Corinth, telling them, “…ye see your calling, brethren, how that
not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God
chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that
no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
We
all have our arenas, and the Bible is full of examples of men and women of God
who had to enter arenas of their own. Moses
entered his arena when he was driven
into the wilderness by the Egyptians.
For 40 years he was forced to work through his failures and faults until
God eventually revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. Then, he was ready to be sent back to Egypt
to set God’s people free. He had learned
to follow God’s leading and direction, and not rely on what he thought was right. He was prepared to speak for God to Pharaoh,
and not for himself.
Consider
David, whom God called to be the King of Israel. Though he had an entire army at his back, God
arranged that David fight his enemy, Goliath, face-to-face, and one-on-one. David prevailed because of his faith in God,
and because he was willing to confront his enemy regardless of the odds. Knowing that it was of God’s choosing, he was
not afraid of the arena.
Consider
also Job, Joseph, Esther, Daniel, and so many others. They all had their arenas where they learned
to fight the good fight of faith.
Paul
spoke of our individual path with the Lord as a contest when he wrote, “Do you not know that the runners in a
stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Now everyone who competes exercises
self-control in everything. However,
they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Therefore I do not run like one who runs
aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air.
Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that
after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1
Corinthians 9:24-27 HCSB).
Every
time that we face battles in our lives, every time that we enter the arena, our
object must be to overcome. If we don’t
at first, then we train and prepare ourselves for the next contest. It is not
God’s intention that we sit on the sidelines and criticize those who are in the
fight, but will not enter the arena ourselves.
God has promised us the power to become the sons of God! The emphasis is on the “becoming”. We must train like athletes and prepare
like soldiers – not with an expectation to fail, but with the determination to
win by faith in the power of the Lord working in us. “I can
do all things through Christ Who strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13).
In
another place Paul writes, “Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended [attained the prize, or become
perfect]: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind [the failures and successes of the past],
and reaching forth unto those things which are before [the new lessons that
God has yet to teach me], I press toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13, 14). As Christians, this is the rule of our life:
that we continually press toward, and reach for, the high calling of becoming
all that we can be in Christ Jesus.
As
a young Christian, I struggled with my old nature, and too often would fail in my
attempts to be all that I knew God had called me to be. Each time, I would fall before the Father
with tears and heartfelt repentance, asking for the strength to prevail against
the enemy and against my own weakness.
One
night, I had a dream which I knew as soon as I awoke was from God. In the dream I was with a group of fellow
believers, and we were walking through a dense jungle together. As we made our way among the trees and vines,
we talked about all of the dangers that were usually present in most jungles. Someone would mention tigers, and we would
all laugh knowing that God had given us power over tigers. Someone else would mention snakes, and we
would again attest to God’s power over snakes.
One by one the dangers of the jungle were discussed, and we would seem
to have no fear over any of them because we knew God was in control. Then someone mentioned lions. When they did, there was a fear that fell
upon us immediately.
Then
the dream changed. Instead of being with
other Christians, I was all alone picking my way through the jungle. I soon stepped into a large clearing (yep,
you guessed it, about the size of a baseball arena). As I stood at the edge of the clearing, I
detected movement on the opposite side.
As I watched, a large lion stepped into the clearing across from
me. I was literally paralyzed with
fear. I could not run or hide, my feet
were stuck fast. All I could do was
watch as this powerful beast caught sight of me and began to pace very slowly
and deliberately toward me. All the time
its eyes were fixed on mine. He knew
that I was powerless, and I knew that I was going to be lunch! He closed the distance that separated us and
then raised himself up on his back legs, placing his enormous paws on my
shoulders and staring hungrily into my eyes.
I could do nothing but wait for the inevitable.
It
was then that something came to my mind and heart. It was simply the name of Jesus. The thought encouraged me a little, and I
whispered the name, “Jesus”. When I did,
I could see a shadow of doubt enter the lion’s eyes. I felt emboldened and repeated the name, this
time louder and with more confidence, “Jesus”. I could now see fear in the lion’s eyes, and so
I shouted the name, “JESUS!” This time the lion’s eyes widened, and he
fell back from me, turned in mid air, and ran back into the jungle. When he did, I felt every bit of fear leave
me, and a great peace came all over me.
Then the dream ended.
When
I awoke the next morning, I pondered over the dream, and I wondered whether the
answer to my own struggle could really be that simple. Later, I ran across these verses: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him
[Jesus], and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11). God was telling me that every battle had
already been won, and every foe had already been vanquished by the finished
work of the Son of God. All that is
necessary is for us to believe in the promises that God has given us in Christ,
stand on the ground that God has said is ours, resist the devil, and trust in
the name of Jesus. When we proclaim the
name that is above every name, we remind the enemy of Christ’s victory, and ourselves
that God has made that victory ours also.
The
lesson from this dream is one that I have applied to many battles that I have
faced in my life, and its truth still speaks to me today. I have learned that it isn’t just a matter of
speaking the name of Jesus as much as
it is of trusting the name of
Jesus. To confess with my mouth and to
believe in my heart are elements that must work hand in hand in order to secure
my victory. Every time I enter the
arena, there is some initial fear that I feel; but I’m learning that courage
isn’t the absence of fear, but the strength to face our fear.
When
the Israelites first sent spies into the Promised Land to see what kind of land
it was, and whether they had the strength to take it, the majority were
discouraged and afraid to go in and fight because of the giants and the walled
cities that they saw. Only Joshua and
Caleb had the faith to say, “Let us go up
at once and take the land.” They
were prepared to enter the arena at once and fight for what God said was theirs
while the others would not even go in and contend!
So,
don’t listen to the critics if they have never entered the arena
themselves. The Lord Himself will teach
us how to fight, and how to prevail.
King David spoke knowingly about the fight when he wrote, “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which
teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: my goodness, and my
fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in Whom I trust;
Who subdueth my people under me.” (Psalm 144:1, 2). Stay in the fight, Dear Ones!
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