The battle belongs to the Lord!
Paul had a huge job. Almost single-handed, he was called by God to spearhead the spread of Christianity throughout the eastern Mediterranean, planting churches and keeping them up and running. He covered enormous distances mostly on foot, but also by sea in small sailing boats at the mercy of wind and tide.
He struggled and laboured, getting beaten up, imprisoned, and threatened by riots. It was hard work and he carried heavy responsibility. But it was the Lord's work. It was a vital part of the purposes of God in human history. It was cosmic in its significance. He was compelled by the love of Christ and filled with the energy of God's mighty power. His letters often have a sense of joy and overwhelming praise and gratitude for all that he had gained in Christ.
But he did struggle and he admitted it to himself and to his readers. There is enormous encouragement in these words to the Colossians - 'struggling with all God's energy, which so powerfully works in me'. No easy ride, no coasting, no instant answers to prayer, no obstacles melting away, at least not very often. But no lonely despairing struggle either. Jesus said, 'Take my yoke upon you and learn of me... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light'. Paul's words fit Jesus' picture of a pair of oxen or horses under the same yoke, both pulling and working together.
So for all of us working for the Lord in many different capacities, carrying responsibilities, reaching beyond our strength, Paul reminds us that life is often a struggle, but we struggle with the powerful energy of the Lord alongside us and in us.
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