Winning and Losing?

Life is not about winning or losing. Life is about understanding, compromising, and growing. If life were about winning and losing, we would all be doomed. No one can win all of the time. It's impossible. None of us is perfect enough to dodge defeat. But there is still hope for us. Christ isn't judging us based on whether we win or lose. He loves us when we're on the top of the world and when we're on rock bottom. The only way for us to even begin to look towards the idea of perfection is to live through God. And even then we Still won't ever be perfect. We will Always fall down and need God's forgiveness. BUT by living through Him we will learn more from ALL of our experiences combined than we could ever learn through just winning.

God wants us to win and to lose. But wait. Wouldn't we think that our loving Heavenly Father would always want His children to win? Some people might think that. But in reality, God teaches us valuable lessons from losing. He wants us to win and lose graciously. Most importantly He wants to be the one that we turn to when we win AND when we lose. He is the ultimate coach in our lives and because He loves us, He won't always let us win. If you've ever played a sport or maybe even a board game, you can relate to the fact that you usually learn more when you lose than when you win. When you lose a softball game, you take the time to assess what may have gone wrong. Maybe you had a hole in left field because your centerfielder was standing to the right because she was mad at the leftfielder. The opposing team saw this and consistently hit the ball into the hole. After the game, you would huddle up and have a talk about working as a team and about doing your job. I use this analogy to say that if you had won the game, you may not have realized that there was a hole on the field. You wouldn't have taken the opportunity to evaluate your game afterwards.

God uses loses to teach us lessons. Sometimes we have to lose to learn from Him, and I know that in that case, I am okay with losing. I can only hope that in any case, whether I win or lose, I will praise Him for the opportunity to play the game.

Hebrews 7:19 - For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. (KJV)
Hebrews 7:19 - For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. (NLT)

At the end of the day I would ask you to remember the words from the song:

I was sure by now God
You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as your mercy fall
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives
and takes away.

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
That you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives
and takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
That you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
my help comes from the Lord
the maker of Heaven and Earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
my help comes from the Lord
the maker of Heaven and Earth

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
That you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm


Even when we're down and out, and feel like we're at the bottom, God is still there. =)

God Bless,
Taylor