As a young teenager, I remember watching boxing matches on Saturday nights with my dad. The excitement would rise as we heard the announcer say with a booming voice, “In this corner, weighing 230 pounds, the heavyweight champion of the world…” then he would give a name spiced up with descriptive adjectives. He would then go on to announce the opponent in the same manner. We would watch as the coach would give the boxer his final words of advice and encouragement and then send him into battle. Round after round the boxers would return to their corners where their coaches were waiting with a stool, water, ice, and towels to care for them. The coaches’ words helped keep the boxer focused on the plan, and the ultimate goal of winning the victory.

During my adult years, I have often thought back on those nights with my dad. Little did I know at the time that life itself would be similar in many ways to those boxing matches. We may not have someone announcing our every opponent, but every day we face opposition in many areas. Sometimes we endure many punches as we go through our day. Our life is composed of many rounds as we pass through each phase of life. We are in a battle, not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12).

Just like a boxer in a professional fight, we need to have someone in our corner to support and encourage us as we fight the battles of life. Someone who will keep us grounded in faith when things get hard, someone we can trust and talk to openly, someone who will offer advice without criticism, someone who will challenge us to do our best, someone who will love and accept us regardless of our mistakes, and someone who will carry our burdens with us when it becomes too much to handle alone.

God is our first line of defense and has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, but it is also important to surround ourselves with people that God has placed in our lives to be there when we need it. And just as these friends will point us back to God as they help us, may we also be ready to be that support and encouragement for others as well.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for your unconditional love and for never leaving or forsaking me. Thank you, also, for the people you have placed in “my corner” to help me through the battles of life. May their words and actions always point me back to you, the source of our strength. Help me be this source of encouragement for others and be as Jesus to them when they need it most. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

1. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT).