Please donate to our fight at https://www.givesendgo.com/renzlaw and www.TomRenz.com
It’s been a very busy week and I’ve just returned from Arizona where I learned a ton about some very promising “alternative” cancer treatments and naturopathy. The number of seemingly unrelated things that have come up over the last week leave me in a place where I have a lot to say but I want to focus here on some things related to being a warrior.
After returning from Arizona late Friday night/early Saturday morning I had an event to speak at here in Ohio Saturday evening. The event was with my friend Coach Dave Daubenmire for Pass the Salt Ministries. Coach Dave a a great guy and true warrior for Christ and I was able to speak with a lot of amazing people.
One of the people I spoke with mentioned God protecting us from serpents and scorpions and asked about the pain that we feel when our loved ones make bad decisions (like getting the COVID jab). This was critical and got me thinking about God, pain, and being a warrior.
For me, the fight against corruption has been difficult both personally and professionally - life does not stop because you are a fighter. My wife being hit with stage 4 cancer, the terrible judge that - in my opinion - issued an egregiously bad-faith order for sanctions against me, a tough economy, the continual weight of the fight, and many other things have truly pushed me hard. I’ve had to fight through a lot of pain and difficulties and they hurt. So how does that reconcile with donning the armor of God and his protection?
I think the image most people have of a warrior is a gladiator leaving an arena with his sword raised in glory. Or perhaps a boxer or fighter standing at the end of the fight with their arms raised. This is one small part of fighting but by no means is it representative of what it means to be a warrior. Being a warrior starts with prep and thousands of hours of work with no glory. It means waking up early and staying up late. The prep hurts and is never comfortable. This prep may be working out if your fight is physical, studying/researching/writing if your fight is mental, or praying and meditating if your fight is spiritual - most of my fights are a combination of 2 or more of those.
When the time comes to fight, the fight is exciting for the people watching and whether you are testifying or prosecuting a court case, or literally participating in combat it is likely a spectacle. It also hurts. You typically don’t feel pain when you are in a fight… unless you are losing. Losing is something most people that like fights never think about. When people imagine the victorious gladiator walking from the colosseum they rarely think about the fallen warrior that gave his all. Whether for entertainment or for a true cause, there is always a loser and that is the part of the fight non-warriors tend to forget.
When the fight is over then the pain will begin. The pain is universal in one form or another. Sometimes a fight is difficult and the pain comes in the form of wounds. Sometimes it comes in the form of relief that the fight is over and sadness that it is - this is kind of like you feel after Christmas as a kid… very excited about your presents but sad it’s another whole year before the next. If you lost the fight the pain is far worse. If you won, it is easier to overlook and pain or disappointment.
All of this is important to understand when we think about God’s protection for his warriors. If you choose to be a warrior you may well put on the armor of God and he will ensure his will is done but that does not mean you will not have pain. Even if you win you choose to fight which means you choose to accept pain in service to God. His armor may protect you but a solid blow will still hurt.
We should also understand the difference between worldly pain and God’s view. God does not want us to hurt but he never promised an easy go. If you choose to serve him as a warrior this is even more true. I believe God will reward his warriors but the reward may never occur in this world. Christ himself suffered as badly as anyone possibly could but no one can question his reward was magnificent. God focused throughout the Bible on the difference between his view of things as God and our view of worldly things - like pain - here. Ultimately, he will get us through but that does not mean without a bit of worldly difficulty.
Finally - remember - each of us makes our own decisions. Pain for others is a gift (read the beatitudes) but that pain is not something God could protect us from without limiting that person’s free will. Free will is central to life - God gave us free will to decide to believe in him or not… the most important question there is - and taking that would make us slaves. Remember, when loved ones make decisions, that is from them, not God and so the pain is a result of their actions, not his.
If you are a warrior you will have strong opinions on the things you care about. Pain will creep in from a lot of places: prep to fight, the fight itself, the post fight, and from others that fail to fight with you. That does not mean God has abandoned you. It simply means you volunteered to serve him in something that was always going to hurt. If you punch the devil in the nose he will punch you back and he hits hard. God bless my fellow warriors with the courage to do that but just know - pain is part of the deal.
Please donate to our fight at https://www.givesendgo.com/renzlaw and www.TomRenz.com
Amen Tom. Amen.
Continued prayers for your wife, you and your entire family.
This scripture helps me understand what we are currently witnessing:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12
God bless you and your family, Tom. I pray for you at least twice a day. You fight for all of us.