Throw the First Punch

This is from the blog of Pastor Steven Furtick and I love it:

"When I started middle school my dad taught me a simple, slightly controversial, and very effective strategy in case I ever got in a fight.

(He was already about 3 years too late, but better late than never.)

“Now boy, don’t you ever go looking for trouble, but if someone starts something with you, here’s what I want you to do. The moment you realize a fight is unavoidable, you make sure you throw the first punch.”
(Actually I think he said “get the first lick in”, but I’m not sure how that would translate for my non-Southern readers.)

Relax, I’m not advocating fist fighting (necessarily ). Just thought it made for a cool analogy.
Every single morning I wake up, I’m a marked man. Every day of my life, there’s going to be a fight, God’s Word says so.

So why should I wait around to get sucker punched? Why not drop kick the devil in the teeth before he knows what hits him? Why not get the first lick in every single morning?
Lately I’ve been waking up, going straight to the shower, and quoting the Word of God out loud. I’m not going to spend the first part of my day playing defense, I’m going on the attack.

I think too many Christians wait until just before the T.K.O. to start fighting. We unnecessarily get our brains beat out by failure, sickness, and overwhelming pressure…

Try this.
The next time you feel temptation coming on, don’t wait until the standing 8 count starts to get serious about the fight.
The next time you hear depression or discouragement taunting you, don’t wait until you’re seeing stars before you begin to block and bob and weave and counterpunch.

You’re in for a fight every day of your life.
Come out swinging.
And go for broke.
After all, the fight is fixed. "