Pam Padgett - teacher
Paul spoke of how he fought in order to run the race set before him ....
1 Corinthians 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
One of the fights we continuously must fight is dealing with troubling thoughts so we may keep our hearts and minds according to the ways and word of God. The devil brings thoughts which can greatly affect us and lead in ways that are not ways of God and of peace. If we try to explain away the thoughts with our minds it
does no good ... just as beating the air ... and we become weak and are in danger of going the wrong way.
An example is troubling thoughts that have come to me at times accusing me for not writing more on the blog. If I try to lightly reason the thought away,
it does no good and I have become confused and almost paralyzed. But
when I turn to God with each thought, HE knows how to help me. I recall
one time being helped by being reminded of the following and was able to move forward as I focused on this ... I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
Father which hath sent me. (John
5:30)
When we stop and turn to God with each thought, we don't just beat the air but are able to effectively fight with what God gives to us to keep ourselves in the way of God.
Another way we can "beat the air" is by not dealing appropriately with problems that
we encounter. We may think "Its not important" or "This is silly and
shouldn't be a problem" (but it is a problem if it troubles or consumes us).
The problem doesn't get resolved by trying to ignore or reason it
away. We've done no more than beat the air. But when we turn to God
with the problem, HE is able to help us.
Recently I
found myself "beating the air" in dealing with a problem. A
neighbor sometimes brings her dogs to play in the yard with my dogs. A
couple weeks ago one of my dogs started jumping on the neighbor in
excitement. One day the dog jumped in such a way that the neighbor
almost fell! Although the neighbor has not been upset, I was very
troubled by the dog jumping. I do not want to subject anyone to this jumping which is irritating and could be dangerous. I
tried various things to keep the dog from
jumping on this neighbor but my ideas were ineffective, like beating the
air.
Then I remembered to turn to God with this problem. After praying I had
the idea to talk with a trainer. The trainer suggested something very
simple ... keep the dog on a leash until she calms down from being so
excited. If she jumps again, immediately put her back on the leash
until she again calms down. The neighbor has brought her dogs to my
yard twice since I spoke with the trainer, and using a leash like this
is working well. Rather than my frantically yelling at the dog (which
did no good), I'm able to deal with the dog pretty easily and
effectively. On the second visit the dog calmed much quicker and was
able to be off the leash more without jumping.
When we fight by turning to God and fight with what God gives to us, going in the way we are shown by the
Holy Spirit, that which troubles or hinders us is dealt with and we can
move forward. We don't just beat the air.