How has the fight of faith changed over the past 10 years? I do not mean, “How has this blog changed?” I mean, how has my actual fight of faith changed from my early 40s to my early 50s?
It was January of 2016 when I launched this site. I had little expectation that it would still be around 10 years later. At the time, I was dealing with health issues, so I started this blog to help me keep my eyes focused on things unseen. My hope was that I would find comfort from the God of all comfort, while simultaneously comforting others with the same comfort I have received (2 Corinthians 1:4).
The first post to attempt this directly was simply called the Fight of Faith. The point of the short narrative was to remind us that our faith has the power to overcome the world. Not because faith is something we muster or maintain ourselves, but because it has been born from above. The Holy Spirit is at work in us, and he cannot fail. No matter what comes to a child of God, including our own failures, the faith given to us by God takes hold of the eternal life to which we were called (1 Timothy 6:2).
The fight of faith still rages 10 years later, but some of the enemies that confront me have changed. Moving into my 50s has presented its own distinct adversaries that want to undo my faith. Here are a few.
Cynicism
I have reached the point in life where I have seen a lot, so I am naturally less impressed with most things these days. It may stem not only from my stage in life but also from the state of our culture and the divisions of the times in which we live, but cynicism is alive and well. It can sometimes mask itself as discernment, but it is not a virtue.
Cynicism can often see through false motives, but it usually goes far beyond that and begins scoffing at God-given institutions and blessings. Every good deed we see done publicly, we interpret as hypocritical performance, and we begin to hear moral language as manipulation or merely virtue signaling. If left unchecked, cynicism will even start to question the goodness of God.
A cynical heart is not how Christ called us to live. Scripture calls us to think on whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable, but cynicism assumes goodness is mostly illusory. Because of this, the Holy Spirit’s ongoing nudges to pull my eyes from social media’s divisiveness and the spirit of the age, and to turn them back to scripture, are a key front. The battle is not easy, because my sinful heart often prefers Twitter and short-form video to the Word of God. One feeds my cynicism, and the other feeds my soul.
Work Overload (Burnout)
I am not sure whether cynicism leads to feeling work is excessive, or whether overload leads to cynicism, but in either case, I feel overloaded more than I would like to admit. You may have noticed that 2025 did not see many new writings from me on this blog. That is because, in addition to my regular duties at the university, I began teaching courses at the law school. Teaching a course a second time is relatively easy. Teaching courses from scratch is extremely time-consuming. This past year involved the latter. Maybe you are in the same situation. Your responsibilities have steadily increased over the years, leaving little time or energy for anything else, including devotional time.
I have never experienced a full-blown case of burnout, and I pray I never will. Still, I occasionally experience some of its symptoms, such as emotional exhaustion, reduced creativity, or an increased reliance on numbing behaviors such as the over-scrolling on social media mentioned earlier.
One of the key symptoms of burnout is a loss of joy. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and if you begin to see that fade, it is time to take notice. The joy of the Lord is your strength, so no joy equals no strength. A lack of joy and strength is where faith steps in and says, “It is time to slow down and set your eyes back on Christ.” Work is good. It is a gift from God, but if you find yourself overloaded, you can be sure the enemy will use it to try to extinguish your faith.
Bodily Betrayal
Once we reach our 50s, it can feel like our bodies are beginning to let us down, often when we need them most. This one is not new to me due to the health struggle mentioned earlier, but there are new aspects now that I am older. Slower recovery and the need to be more vigilant about nutrition, rest, and mental rigor begin to surface.
The fight of faith kicks in here to remind us that though the outer man is wasting away, the inner man is being renewed day by day. Hearing that the outer man is wasting away may not comfort you; it may even irritate you, because what bothers you most is a body that no longer works flawlessly. This discouragement is where the fight of faith must continue to remind you not to set your sights on what can be seen, but set them instead on things unseen.
A Few Others
There are several other things people begin to experience at this stage of life—things like starting to support parents rather than the other way around. Losing influence as up-and-comers begin to get the spotlight, even though you are the most competent you have been all your life. You may even experience the death of dreams you now realize will never happen, and it will feel like grief. Through the work of God, faith has answers to all of these.
One That Surfaced as I Wrote
One other fight of faith reared its head while writing this. I did not see it coming, but as I put these thoughts into words, I kept thinking, “You don’t want to post this. You don’t want people to know your weaknesses.” I doubt vulnerability or fear of exposure is new to my 50s, but it is a fiery arrow sent by the enemy to attack my faith.
One of the main reasons we hate vulnerability is that we often still see ourselves as the captains of our fate. We say we trust in God, but secretly think it is still all up to us. We do not like others to see the cracks in our armor, because they might be used against us. This exposure is where faith comes and tells us, our armor is worthless anyway—even our best pieces. God is our rock and protection. Posturing will get you nowhere, but authentic courage comes by resting in the armor only he provides.
All of these things can bring us low, but we must realize that every time this world disappoints us, God is weaning us from all its charms and reminding us that Jesus is our everything.
When you see that shift begin to take place, you know the Holy Spirit is at work in your heart. He keeps the fire of faith burning, and he will never let it go out, which is why it will overcome the world.
So in some ways, the fight of faith has changed over the past 10 years, but when it comes to the most essential aspect, it has not changed at all. Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is always faithful to his people, and he will never lose one of us.
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 