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When I was a kid I used to love to watch “Championship Wrestling.”

Now if you’re over 10 years of age you might have a bit of a problem believing this stuff, but who cares? For those who love it, it’s right up there with comic books as far as action goes.

I loved the tag-team bouts, especially when my favorite bad guy, “The Great Bolo,” was involved. This guy would strut, preen, and hide pieces of metal in his mask in order to waylay the good guy when the ref wasn’t looking.

And those hopeless refs seemed to never look.

One of the good guys would nearly be beaten to a pulp by the bad guy in these matches. The meanie might lift him above his head and smash him to the canvas or throw him against the ring ropes and lay him out with a clothes- line move.

So, one of the good guys usually reached the end of his strength. He’s beaten without pity by the other two and the referee just watches. He’s down and nearly pinned. The referee counts, “One, two …” and somehow our nearly- dead hero manages to raise his shoulder off the ring floor.

He reaches and reaches for the hand of his partner so he can come and save him. He stretches. Will he make it? Won’t he?

Then suddenly he “touches” his mate and everything explodes. This other good guy leaps over the ropes and lands a solid right on bad guy’s jaw (this is wrestling remember). The other bad guy enters the ring illegally to help the first bad guy but our turbo-charged friend knocks him against the ropes, then lifts him onto his shoulders, turns round and round, slams him to the ring floor, and then stomps on him.

Then he goes back to grab the first one, still woozy, drags him up by the mask or by his hair, slings him against the ropes then catches him with a forearm when he rebounds. The bad guy wobbles to the ring floor.

Mr. Good Guy pins him and the invisible ref suddenly appears and counts super quick (probably because it’s time for a commercial), “One, two, three. Out!”

“Ding, ding, ding!”

The baddies come back to life slowly, slouch around, jaw with the ref, jaw with the winners who run at them causing the bad guys to flee to their corner.

Didn’t you love it? Sure it’s fake, but it’s good theater if you’re ten.

Ever Tried Wrestling?

Maybe you’ve  found yourself lying on the ring floor recently with a 400-pound blob of an adversary pinning you? Only it’s not fake!

Sickness, problems in the family, depression, anger, frustration, doubt, financial problems, conflict  in your marriage—you name it—can all put you down for the count.

What can you do?

I suggest you act like a championship wrestler. Reach out and touch your Partner. King David might have had a Middle Eastern Great Bolo pinning him down when he pinned these words:

“The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.” (Ps. 18: 4, 5 NKJV)

His response wasn’t super sophisticated but it certainly was effective: “
In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God.”

And the Lord flew into action. He hopped over the ring rope … no, no. That’s not what happened. It was a lot better than that.

“He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

Sometimes we look for 37 keys to victory or we try to hold our mouths right as we say just exactly the words in prayer which will change our situation. Often the answer is to simply cry out to God from the bottom of your being. He’ll take care of the rest.

Feel like you’re down for the count and the Great Bolo’s got you pinned?

Reach out and touch the Lord Jesus. He’s got a long arm.

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Think About It
“In dealing with the devil, I need to know my rights and exercise them!  But in dealing with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I need to be willing to limit myself.  There are times when demanding my rights can actually be a sign of immaturity in me.” Leon Hiebert