My whole training period and into the fight I really have been praying and trying to be focused on God being glorified through it all, not solely having my focus be the activity at hand.
"but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
As I performed the Sealing of the Ring, I was praying Isaiah, that I was "waiting on the Lord" and that I would "fight and not grow faint". God was totally with me before, during and after the fight. I was talking to a fighter, (before my fight) who was there watching the fights and when he found out it was my first fight he said, "I have one piece of advice. As soon as you hit the ring you will get nervous as hell. Just breath deep, relax, move and get through the first two rounds and your nerves will calm." I told him, "I know it sounds crazy, but I am not nervous at all." and he replied, "you will as soon as you hit the ring". The crazy thing is, I never felt nervous; now that doesn't mean I wasn't having the effects of nerves (as my kicks looked horrible) but I never got the feeling of nervousness that makes you freeze up or forget your training. I totally know that I should have, and that was the Holy Spirit being with me.
"So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing." 1 Cor 9:26
While I do the running portion of my training, I always want to give up early, and this is what I say to myself to keep going, "this is round 3, and there are still two more to go"... or "while I'm doing this the other guy isn't" and that's what drives me on to finish. So, in the third round when I was doing everything I could to keep knee striking the Lord brought back to my mind this thought from my training, "this is the 7th kilometer and I still have 2 more kilometers to go, and I ain't freagin' givin' up right now!" and I kept on knee striking. So when the ref gave him the 8-count I was seriously praying the whole time "Lord, please let the ref call the fight, because I cannot do one more knee strike" and when the ref waved his hands, I knew God had answered my prayer. It was SO hard, I'm not going to say it was the hardest thing I have ever done, but... it was SO hard. So I totally know that God gave me the favor of the win. It was not on my strength.
"We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." 1 Col 1:28
After the fight that is what I told EVERYONE, that God/Jesus had given me the strength and gave me the blessing of the win. I was honest with people that talked to me and told them that I felt I couldn't do another knee strike and that God had answered my prayer and gave me the favor of the win. After the fight everybody at the stadium wanted to talk to me because no one thought I would win, and according to Lisa the whole stadium got into our fight. One lady after the fight came up to me and said "You were meditating in there weren't you" (she was refering to the sealing of the ring and Wai Kru) I said, "Nope, I was praying to God that I would fight and not grow faint" and she said, "but you were also meditating right?" I said "MEDITATING on JESUS baby!" and she got a sort of perplexed look and that was the end of it. But I totally felt God's presence during it all.
Its like that quote from Chariots of Fire "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure."...
thats the way I felt during my training and during the fight. While I fought I felt His pleasure.
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
After I won, I didn't have it left in me to cry, but I felt like I had to cry, because I was so overwhelmed. Its not that I didn't think I could win, but I didn't come into the fight with the expectation that I would surely win. So when I did win, knowing I felt like I was completely exhausted, all I could do was praise God for His goodness and thank Him for the gift of the win, and the gift of feeling His loving pleasure for what I was doing. Its why I want to train and fight again. I want to continually feel His pleasure as I fulfill this one small part of my purpose. Its the same way I feel when I snowboard... It literally is (one of) my form(s) of worship.
"Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!" 1 Cor 9:24
Finally, on the way home I was really clearly hearing the Holy Spirit, and I questioned, "Why did it take so long for You to answer my prayer (of giving me the win)?" and I heard the answer "because I answered your prayer only after you had fought with ALL your strength. I know your heart and if you had given up early you would not have won." Wow... Thank you Lord.
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