When a lose is really a win

Throughout the Word of God we see His people being defeated.  But not for long!  

And even when it seemed "permanent," it wasn't.  Why?  Because as Christians, even when we lose our lives, we win!  So if we take it to that extreme - the seemingly worse "loss" of all - there simply is no way we can lose as Christians!

If we die, we are with the Lord!  This is THE biggest win of our lives!

If we lose the occasional spiritual battle, it teaches us to know better the next time around.

If we lose all of our possessions, we still have Christ!  And He provides better.

If we lose our reputation, man's opinion matters not anyway because we belong to Christ and our true character is known by Him alone.

So many seeming "failures" in my life were ordained by my loving Heavenly Father.  A good parent doesn't want their child to succeed before they are ready to handle it.  And the Lord is our perfect Parent.  Only He knows when we need to learn from failure, and when we are ready to handle His success for us.

You read all the time about how successful people learned more in their times of failure than in their successes.  Learning is crucial.  The Lord is building us on the inside through all that He teaches us in order to prepare us for His wonderful future for us!

Can you wait for it?  Can you wait for God's perfect timing in your life, to let Him decide when you are ready for all of His magnificent blessings?  

I have been waiting on the Lord for over 30 years for some dreams to come to fruition!  30+ years!!!  Could you wait that long?

It all comes back to our #1 purpose in life:  knowing God.  And when we learn to grow in our trust of Him no matter what, that is part of knowing Him!  Trusting that He always knows best.  Trusting that we will not miss His plan for our lives as long as we are seeking Him, trusting Him, obeying Him, and getting to know Him better each day.

It all sounds so simple, and in a way, it is!  

It is we who complicate matters, isn't it?  God's ways are profound and His plans endlessly intricate.  Yet when it comes to excuting them, He is Master of all masters and knows perfectly when, what, how, who, and where to accomplish His plans in and through us!

Remember, He is the Commander in Chief.  We are simply to carry out His will and plans. 

So if we are listening and trusting and obeying, we will succeed because we have the Omniscient God driving our ship, our lives! Yeehah!

It is a beautiful thing to be led by the Holy Spirit.  It does not make us weak or helpless - quite the contrary!  Every military and spiritual and physical victory we see in the Bible - all of them were accomplished by men and women much like you and me.  They were flawed, had fears, were just as imperfect as we are.  But God!

But when God got a hold of them and was with them, look out!  They were powerful beyond measure because "the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."  Daniel 11:32b

We draw on His strength, His power, His love, His everything!  And it is then that we accomplish the impossible because it is Him living through us!  Yes, we are physically present - we are the ones among the lions, like Daniel.  We are the ones casting our stone toward the giant, like David.  We are the ones speaking for God at the peril of our own well-being, like every prophet who ever spoke on behalf of God!

Each and every hero of the Bible knew defeat, had losses.  Each and every one tasted failure.  Some were orchestrated by God, others happened of their own doing.  Either way, God restores!  God heals!  God provides!  God brings us back to Himself (and our senses)!  God knows how to best use each and every one of us for His glory and purposes.  We only need to cooperate with Him!

So next time you "lose," remember that God can turn it into a win.  God has victories lined up for you to walk in down the road.  God wins!  And He will win through you when He knows that you are ready!

Oh Lord.  You took this extremely impatient girl and somehow made me into a patient woman!  You are for real!  Though I have known much defeat in my life, experienced great losses, I know that I am victorious in You and that You will let me do "great exploits" by Your power when You have made me fully ready.  So thank You, dear Lord.  Thank You for Your perfect ways and timing.  Thank You for never giving up on me.  I pray that You always lead me in triumph for Your glory's sake!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.