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Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
The difference between a winner and a loser is often a matter of inches or moments. A slip on the ice for figure skater, a missed assignment in a ball game, a moment of distraction for anyone and victory can slip from your hands. Everyone loses. Champions are people who use losses as stepping stones to victory.
It’s no wonder then that the apostle Paul used this analogy when he wrote to the Philippians from a dark, cold and damp prison cell. In the most unlikely place and the most uncomfortable circumstances Paul gives us a glimpse of his life philosophy. He admits to failure. He is not proud or his past. But he puts that aside and looks forward to what God has for him in the future.
Each of us has things on our past that we are ashamed of. We’ve made decisions that have hurt the people we love the most. We have been hurt by trusted friends and lovers. We have been the victims of other’s abusive and vindictive attacks.
Like Paul we need to look ahead. God didn’t allow you to go through what you are going through to make you feel defeated. He has no intention of putting you on a shelf somewhere because you’ve made such a mess of your life. He put you here on earth because he can use you and wants to see you succeed. That success may not be as the world measures success: money, fame, power, etc. The success He has for you is on the inside.
Don’t let your past defeats keep you from being a champion. Your relationship with Jesus Christ it your best avenue to achieving all God has for you and He has promised you His very best.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. You know the weight of my past mistakes. You know my feelings of defeat and weakness. Help me to pick myself up from this despair and move forward. Help me to be the champion you made me to be. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to live like a winner today. Amen.
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11
The people of God were in exile in a far off land. They’d been separated from family, their homes and most importantly the ability to worship God freely. Psalm42 is a song that was written during this time of hopelessness. They longed for way things used to be. For the ability to sing their songs, to meet with family and hear God’s word.
Now, all that was gone. They were taunted and harassed by people who didn’t believe as they did. They were constantly reminded by the people in this new land that their God was weak and perhaps even dead. They were called fools for the way they desired to worship. Lies were told about them. It was a very terrible and lonely time.
The ‘prison’ the Israelites found themselves in was a real one. They were slaves and told what to do, where to go, what to eat. They had very little say in any part of their lives. Some even died as a result of the hardship.
Even though we may not be in a prison with walls, sometimes we can find ourselves in a prison without walls. We look back to times in our lives when life was good. We had a family, we had a good job, and the kids listened to us. Now, we long for those times.
There are lots of things that can put us in a prison without walls. Divorce, illness, financial disaster, job loss, rebellious kids or any other number of issues can make us long for the ‘good ole’ days’. They bring pain and despair into our lives. But those issues aren’t the walls. The walls are how we react to the issues.
The issues of life cause us to feel ashamed, lonely, guilty, and angry and any number of other emotions. The way we react to the struggles of life builds walls around us that keep us from experiencing all the good that our loving Heavenly Father has for us.
No matter what is going on in your life God loves you. It doesn’t matter if the things happening to you are a result of your own poor choices or the evil inflicted by other, abusive people. Jesus loves you. It doesn’t matter if you once ‘were a good Christian’ and now have walked away from the faith. Jesus wants to welcome you back with open arms.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Right now you know the struggle I’m going through. You know my pain, my shame, my guilt. My enemy attacks me. My finances are a disaster. I feel completely defeated. Please tear down these walls that keep me from experiencing all that you have for me. Help me to live by the measurement of your standards and not the standards others seek to force on me. Amen.
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
There aren’t very many things that we can count on any more. Relationships fail; jobs go away, friends and family members move, or worse yet die. Change happens more and more frequently. Faith tells us that we can be sure of the hopes and dreams we have. All we have ever wanted can come true if we just have the faith. That all sounds good, but is it really true?
But in the real world ‘dreams’ don’t always come true. So is God wrong? Is faith worth it? Was this verse put in these pages just to mess with our minds? Why don’t dreams come true?
There are a lot of reasons our dreams don’t come true. We lose faith in ourselves. We stop believing in ourselves when failure follows failure. We set goals for ourselves and fail to meet them. Soon the wounds overtake us and we give up. We lose faith in others when relationships go sour and love dies. We lose faith in God when our prayers go unanswered and it seems like disaster follows disaster. We lose faith when we listen to the lies of those around us.
Having faith means we believe in the unbelievable, we trust what we can’t see, we accept what we can’t change.
Faith is only as strong as the item we put our faith in. That’s why we often get discouraged. We put our faith in finite, mortal things such as money, other people or ourselves. When those things fail despair sets in. There are no options.
Just saying we put our faith in God isn’t enough. Faith in God depends on our concept of God. If we see God as being some aloof, uncaring old man, and trouble comes what good is our faith. If we see God as being a weak wishy-washy coward and we are attacked where will he be then? If we see God as a vengeful, angry father we cower in fear when we think we may have displeased him. When we see God as a jolly, old Santa Clause type God we expect to get all of our dreams and wishes fulfilled whether they are really best for us or not.
But if we see God as a loving, caring, all-powerful daddy we realize that He will be exactly what we need at the time. That means that when we need to be challenged he’ll bring situations into our lives to make us strong. When we need to be comforted he sends healing. When we are lonely he reminds us that he is always there. He has given us the gifts we need to accomplish all He has intended.
Never, ever stop believing in the God of the Bible.
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father. There are so many times when I struggle with this thing called faith. I desperately want to believe in you. I want to believe in myself and to believe that you have great things planned for me. Help me to see you for who you are so that I can pursue the dreams you have given me. Amen.
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, And no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT)
In the beginning, before the earth even existed there was only God, existing in three persons. At some point before time He chose to create the universe. In the midst of that vast amount of space He placed a tiny speck of rock and filled it with water and land and trees and animals. And He looked at His creation and saw that it was very, very good.
There was something missing though. The creator God wanted to love and be loved so He created the most special creature one could imagine. A creature that was made in His very own image! Next He created a mate for that ‘man’ as he called Him. Creator God visited the couple often. They walked together. Talked together. Hugged each other. They loved.
One day tragedy struck the garden and sin destroyed that perfect relationship. Much as He loved the man and woman (whom He called Adam and Eve) the relationship was horribly broken and He had to send them from the paradise He’d created with them in mind.
From that point forward Creator God began the work of restoring the relationship He missed. He yearned to walk again with man. To hold them. To laugh with them. To share life with Adam and Eve and their children. Creator God loved the man and woman so much that He became one of them to show them how to love and how to fix the relationship He so much longed for.
He is still working today to mend that relationship. When you love someone dearly you want to give them anything and everything they need to make them happy and healthy. On the human plain, time, money and our human frailty keeps us from giving those we love all we want to give them. Not so with Creator God. He yearns to give you all the blessings you can possibly handle….and MORE!
Because of Jesus we have the right and privilege to come into His very presence and cry, talk, even vent our frustrations. He loves us. He loves us more than anything.
PRAYER; Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me like you do. I am so unworthy of all you have given me. Empower me through your Spirit to sense your love and compassion. Give me the courage to be able to ask you for my needs. I love you very much. Amen.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2
The human mind is an amazing thing. Even the most complex computer can’t stand up against the power our minds have! The way you think about yourself can influence how you walk, how you react to adversity and can even have an impact on your health. The way you think about your relationships can have an effect on whether that relationship will be strong or disastrous.
The Apostle Paul tells us to keep our minds on Heavenly things, not on earthly things. Perhaps it would be helpful to take just a few minutes to think about what that really means.
First of all, heavenly things has to do with how God looks at you. You are his most prized creation. There isn’t a single part of His creation that he is more interested in than you. YOU are His Plan A.
On earth you are a number. Your value is measured by your work habits, your job, your weight, your past and your beauty. Currently one of the most popular shows on TV is American Idol. The show is a perfect example of what we hold in high esteem: our personal ability. It’s great to see people be able to ‘show off’ their talents, but don’t forget that those talents were given by God whether He is acknowledged or not and God has given you everything you need to be EXACTLY as He wants you to be.
Secondly look at how heavenly relationships work. Our Heavenly Father loves you so much He gave all He had, through His Son Jesus, to give you life! There is nothing you can do to earn that love, keep that love or destroy that love. GOD LOVES YOU. He wants nothing more than to walk through every day with you, listen to you, hold you and tenderly remind you of His love. He expects nothing in return.
Even the best earthly relationships depend on a mutual giving and taking. Most relationships are built to some degree on what I can get for me. We are compared, judged and measured by our ability to perform at a certain level. Relationships fail because one or more of the parties involved have failed to measure up to the others’ expectation.
Focusing on Jesus may not change the pain you encounter in life but it can will change how you react to it. As you go through your day today, remember that in God’s eyes you are not in competition. He doesn’t require anything from you except that you love Him. Don’t let the attitudes of this world program your mind for failure. The things you think about in relationships and about yourself will affect how you respond when earthly things go wrong.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, there are so many things that keep me from looking to you. Help me to see myself as you see me and not as the world sees me. Empower me to believe, really believe that you have my very best in mind. Help me focus on your unending love during today’s struggles. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 