Day 73: Balanced Victory Through Faith and Overcoming.
Read: 1 John 5:1 -5
There is an saying in the world of sports that likewise drives how we
live our daily lives - "The thrill of victory and the agony of of
defeat". At a very young age, children are brought by their parents
to local schools or community centers to try out for a spot on a
competitive sports team - Football, Baseball, Soccer and so on. The kids
come together, the parents spend the money on the equipment, arrange
their work schedules so they can watch their children have fun and
prayerfully in the process they learn something about fair play,
sportsmanship and a healthy balance between the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." It is an important aspect of living life.
In our society and in our culture how we relate to others around us, in
our homes, in our schools, in our workplace, in public, in private
comes out the balance we learn to incorporate into our daily lives.
You have heard "it said that it is not whether we win or lose but how we
play the game." It is learning about how to shake the hands of your
opponent whether or not the outcome is victory or defeat, It is about
going over to help the other player, teammate or opponent, up from the
ground when they fall. It is about learning to share a slice of
pizza with your opponent after the game. It does not matter who won or
who lost or what happened on the field - be gracious.
In a perfect world this is how it would be. If this were the garden of Eden we would know where the tree of life is but have no desire to find out what happens if we were to do what God commanded us not to do. But there is no perfection
around here and we were cast out of the garden. Sometimes life feels
more like the agony of defeat. Sometimes it is so heavy that it
threatens to overwhelm us, and it becomes too hard not to focus on the
problems that we are dealing with. When you are faced with loss in your
life; Loss of health, Loss of loved one; Loss of possessions it is
difficult to stay focused very long on 'thrill of victory'. You discover
that your life is not so balanced.
There are powerful ways
you can one day restore that balance to your life, to that 'thrill of
victory'. You can live in the victory of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You don’t have to remain 'in the agony of defeat'.
There is a promised
balance to your inevitable victory that God tells us to take advantage of:
1. Set your mind to the things above, thinking and then believing in victory. (Colossians 3:1 - 4)
2. Don’t focus so much on the overwhelming defeat, instead focus your
life on the extraordinary Promise of rest gifted to us through Christ.
(Matthew 11:28 - 30)
3. You do not need to fear defeat. Take the first step, start overcoming. (John 16:33)
These are the steps to balanced victory. As you begin to make these
steps you will find that God provides victory in every situation of your
life. 'Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God?' (1 John 5:5)
Let us pray: Lord Jesus
Christ, you know well that we no longer live in the garden of Eden, that
one place where we had perfect balance in our lives. You know well that we completely messed that one up. We chose to live our lives out
of balance with your promises. We are surrounded by the twists and turns
of life, and we often feel we have little or no control over the things that happen to us. Draw us to you that we may find ourselves, to find our way, to find our hope, to live and so to overcome.
http://www.youtube.com/
Read: 1 John 5:1 -5
There is an saying in the world of sports that likewise drives how we live our daily lives - "The thrill of victory and the agony of of defeat". At a very young age, children are brought by their parents to local schools or community centers to try out for a spot on a competitive sports team - Football, Baseball, Soccer and so on. The kids come together, the parents spend the money on the equipment, arrange their work schedules so they can watch their children have fun and prayerfully in the process they learn something about fair play, sportsmanship and a healthy balance between the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." It is an important aspect of living life.
In our society and in our culture how we relate to others around us, in our homes, in our schools, in our workplace, in public, in private comes out the balance we learn to incorporate into our daily lives. You have heard "it said that it is not whether we win or lose but how we play the game." It is learning about how to shake the hands of your opponent whether or not the outcome is victory or defeat, It is about going over to help the other player, teammate or opponent, up from the ground when they fall. It is about learning to share a slice of pizza with your opponent after the game. It does not matter who won or who lost or what happened on the field - be gracious.
In a perfect world this is how it would be. If this were the garden of Eden we would know where the tree of life is but have no desire to find out what happens if we were to do what God commanded us not to do. But there is no perfection around here and we were cast out of the garden. Sometimes life feels more like the agony of defeat. Sometimes it is so heavy that it threatens to overwhelm us, and it becomes too hard not to focus on the problems that we are dealing with. When you are faced with loss in your life; Loss of health, Loss of loved one; Loss of possessions it is difficult to stay focused very long on 'thrill of victory'. You discover that your life is not so balanced.
There are powerful ways you can one day restore that balance to your life, to that 'thrill of victory'. You can live in the victory of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You don’t have to remain 'in the agony of defeat'.
1. Set your mind to the things above, thinking and then believing in victory. (Colossians 3:1 - 4)
2. Don’t focus so much on the overwhelming defeat, instead focus your life on the extraordinary Promise of rest gifted to us through Christ. (Matthew 11:28 - 30)
3. You do not need to fear defeat. Take the first step, start overcoming. (John 16:33)
These are the steps to balanced victory. As you begin to make these steps you will find that God provides victory in every situation of your life. 'Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?' (1 John 5:5)
Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, you know well that we no longer live in the garden of Eden, that one place where we had perfect balance in our lives. You know well that we completely messed that one up. We chose to live our lives out of balance with your promises. We are surrounded by the twists and turns of life, and we often feel we have little or no control over the things that happen to us. Draw us to you that we may find ourselves, to find our way, to find our hope, to live and so to overcome.
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Steady My Heart by Kari Jobe (with lyrics)
www.youtube.com"He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved." ~Psalm
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