Am I Willing to Lose So That I Can Win?

Our illness journey may be tough, but if we trust God, Shelly shares we will win.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

Obviously. . .

But we still have to live in this world, don’t we? And sometimes that’s just hard. It’s hard to feel like we don’t measure up.

The question I have for myself today is: am I competing in the right event?

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

See, I want to win the gold in synchronized swimming. I love the graceful moves and the precision, stamina, and strength displayed in that event.

But I stink at synchronized swimming. The water goes right up my nose, my legs won’t stay straight, and I can’t open my eyes under the water without panicking. And yet, I keep suiting up and getting back in the pool.

Now put me on a luge, and I man it like a champion. I’m sleek and quick and my balance is impeccable. I have perfect timing and can master any course. I could win the gold every time.

But the luge scares me. All that wind rushing by and the shrieking of the blades on the ice. Gives me chills. I have to medicate myself before I can even climb on the sled and then each tenth of a second feels like torturous hours.

Am I willing to lose so that I can win?

Am I willing to give up my druthers so that I can follow a path that will lead to victory? Will I trust my coach and my equipment and the natural talents I’ve been blessed with, or will I continue to insist on my own stubborn way and face failure and disappointment and discouragement at every turn?

It all comes down to how badly I want to win.

“Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33).

Can we trust today that God has a plan, and a good one, for our lives, even if it is not the plan we had in mind? We are still called to trust. And to win.

Prayer: Father God, help us to see how we can still serve. Help us to finish the race with the goal of You in our hearts. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

About the author:
Shelly Hendricks is a wife and mother of 2 amazing kids. She was a teacher and a librarian in another life. She also suffers from Intracranial Hypertension, Interstitial Cystitis, and Essential Tremor. She had brain surgery in 2012 and a revision in 2014 and now considers herself to be a ‘bionic woman’ who is learning to walk again. Disability has been hard to deal with, but she depends on God for all strength and hopes to encourage others on this journey, through her blog at http://reneweddaily.com

What new dream can you pick up now that you’ve had to lay aside the comfortable?

This is the song “Lead of Love” with Caedmon’s Call. Shelly recommended it and it is a wonderful song! The lyrics share about how when we look back at the journey we’ve been on we can see how God’s love was always there. Yes, we have to go through some difficult times, we have to have walked the journey in order to see the result, but we won’t ever be disappointed at the end because we can see that despite all our fears and doubts, God knew what He was doing. Hope it speaks to you today. -Lisa