Rocky made me cry!

Yesterday afternoon I decided to watch the most recent Rocky film entitled "Rocky Balboa". I cannot say that I have ever watch Rocky and actually been spiritually motivated or even more, spiritually healed in some way. I am not one who tends to put God in a box, I am pretty open to the notion that God can use anything that He so desires to speak to and reach people. However, I was not quite prepared for Him to use Rocky to bring me to tears and cause me to jump up and get in the Word.

When I hear the theme from Rocky, it takes me back to being a kid and coming home from seeing the movie, ready to train (for a day or two) to be the next Heavyweight Champion of the world. I might do push-ups or run for at least a day or two and then lose interest until the next movie comes out.

Rocky made a statement a couple of times in the movie that basically expressed "Yo...how you doin'....Yo....it don't matter how many times you get knocked down, what matters is how hard you can get hit and still keep movin' forward." I broke...God spoke to me through the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa. From there He led me to Psalm 27, perhaps my second favorite chapter in the Bible (Romans 8 being # 1).

In Psalm 27, verse 4, David writes One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple (ESV). The key words and the connection to Rocky are the words: "One thing". The issue is focus and the absence of distraction! If there is any common thread in all of the Rocky movies that attracts us as humans, it is his heart. It is not only a heart, but a heart that is focused, without distraction, and has the incredible desire to continue fighting and never giving up!

In C.H. Spurgeon's commentary on the Psalms, the Treasury of David, he writes on God's vision of the individual heart, God judges us very much by the desire of our hearts. He who rides a lame horse is not blamed by his master for want of speed, if he makes all the haste he can, and would make more if he could; God takes the will for the deed with his children.

Forgive the Rocky parallel if it is a bit cheesy, but God would say a similar thing to us as Rocky said to his son, "you are going to get beat up and knocked down, but where is your heart? Have the heart of a champion that can take the big licks and keep moving forward! I have not given you a spirit of fear.... I am much more concerned with the where your heart is than anything else!"

Be encouraged, especially on Good Friday! Jesus died on the cross that dreadfully beautiful Friday two thousand years ago, but the heart of the ultimate champion prevailed as He rose not from a knockdown in the boxing ring, but from the dead and He is alive and well today, living to make intercession for us as He sees us being knocked down on the canvas! The knockdown that has happened in my life and perhaps yours is over and now Jesus is in our corner yelling "get up, get up, you can win this, you are a champion....you have the heart of a Champion....get up!"