Edward Kimball was a young, shy, junior high Sunday school teacher with a chaotic class. He desperately wanted to walk in his purpose by sharing the Gospel with his students. Unfortunately, he wasn’t an effective teacher, the kids ignored him, and spent most of the time in class flying paper airplanes. Even the parents of the kids doubted his future prospects in ministry.

Edward’s Pastor challenged him to visit Dwight, one of the kids that stopped coming to Sunday School. Edward went to the shoe store where his student Dwight worked. The problem was that Ed was frightened to go in, and felt too shy to speak with Dwight. He spent 20 minutes walking around outside the store attempting to build the courage to speak to his student.

You’re probably thinking, Edward needs to step up and do the right thing by speaking with Dwight.

Are you familiar with the fight or flight response, it was first described by Walter Bradford Cannon. The theory simply put, states, when you encounter a stressful situation you will either fight and engage or take flight disengaging to a more comfortable position.

Like Ed, God has called you to the fight to recover what is His. In this case it was the life of Dwight to follow Him. We so often quote Luke 15, the parable of the lost sheep, how we must leave the 99 sheep to recover the lost one. But upon arriving to recover what is lost that belongs to God like your marriage, family, and his call on your life you freeze, and take flight retreating to a more comfortable position, even when you know it’s not the right thing to do.

Because Satan’s strategy is to prevent you from recovering what belongs to God. He has made you believe the comfort of retreat is better than the victory God desires for every area of your life.

This is why you are losing a battle you don’t even know you’re fighting.

As a man, you are daily engaged in battle. You are fighting for your marriage, your kids, your very life as a Godly man. This fight affects everything and everyone around you.

Somewhere in your journey of becoming a man you’ve given yourself a pass, a participation trophy of self-approval. Because of this, the very things that God has given you authority over have been left unguarded.

If you do not take action in this fight that you are losing… your marriage will fail. Your kids will grow up to be what they see in you instead of who you are raising them to be. You will not live up to the potential that God has set for you.

There is a battle going on whether we participate or not. Our inaction is not doing us any favors. The enemy will always win a battle we are not engaged in. As Christians we are commanded to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)”

Every man has falls short in some areas of life entrusted to us by God to steward. We must take an inventory of what has already happened and take a stand. Your enemy the devil is celebrating thinking he has won the battle against you and your family.

 A man was captured, tortured within an inch of his life. He was told by his captors that tomorrow he would be given two options. Behind door one would be a firing squad and door two is a mystery. The next morning the man weary of torture choose door number one. He was afraid to experience any more pain and thought it would be easier to end his life quickly. A soldier went to the captain and asked him what was behind door two. The captain said no one ever chooses door number two. Behind door number two is freedom.

Although the story was extreme it illustrates the fact that we make our decisions based upon comfort moving away from pain. The difference between life and death for the prisoner was his choice to not choose freedom, after all he didn’t really believe that he could be free and escape his plight.

God is calling us to recover our marriage, family, and his purpose for our life. If we stay and fight like in Ephesians 6:13 we can walk victoriously in God’s purpose and defeat the enemy.

Ed walked in the store, found Dwight, and stumbling over his words, he began to tell Dwight what God had done in his life. Ed was so embarrassed that he looked at the floor the entire time he was speaking to Dwight. When Ed looked up he found the boy weeping. Dwight immediately gave his life to Christ.

Although Dwight only had a 5th grade education, he followed God and later conducted worldwide revivals, opened 4 schools, and may be the reason why many theologians have said that he snatched over a million souls from the devil. (God doesn’t need the qualified, he uses the willing and makes them able) We may not all change the world like Dwight L Moody but, like Ed we can make the decision to fight instead of taking flight.

Are you willing to fight and take action to recover what belongs to God concerning your marriage, family, and purpose or will you take flight and shrink to a more perceived comfortable position for your life?

1. GOD is calling you to recover what is HIS in your life. Will you answer the call?

2. Don't retreat when God calls you to fight.

1. This is a FIGHT or Flight moment. Commit 15 minutes a day to the Prayer and the FIGHT PLAN training. Commit to a specific time and start a routine.