I'm a Winner !

It’s a hot topic in academia and beyond: the supposed lack of discipline among today’s young adults. An interesting article I read at least a few dozen times in college as a writing tutor put it this way: “Having been raised on gold stars for effort and smiley faces for self-esteem, [students today have] learned that they can get by without hard work and real talent if they can talk the professor into giving them a break.” Debating that proposition is for another time. But the mentality that everybody wins isn’t always such a bad thing, especially in light of God’s promises.

Lately I’ve been thinking about God’s faithfulness compared to our own. We’ve all had people disappoint us—and we disappoint others. It’s what we do or say—or don’t do. Even those most faithful to us are limited by often uncontrollable incidents such as sickness, accidents...death. And we go through difficult times that don’t have anything to do with our actions. That’s just life.

But one thing I have found is that with Christ, there’s always a winning end to every situation. I can think of so many times when I don’t understand why something is happening—or what God is doing. But at some point—the end of the situation or somewhere in between, God’s control, which is always present, becomes fully evident. It’s more than just “everything happens for a reason” or “experience is the best teacher.” Rather, God uses trying events to teach us that all we really need to thrive in this life is Him. 2 Corinthians 2:14a says, "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ" (Israel & New Breed sing this verse well). “Always” is, of course, the opposite of never—and much more than sometimes. It’s every time. Because Jesus trounced sin and death, with Him, I can overcome anything!

How should this affect how we live? First, it means I put my hope in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:58 also says that because we triumph in Christ, we should constantly invest our time in the things that bring victory: “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” That’s a powerful, life-changing guarantee.

With Christ, the idea of victory every time isn’t so flaky…so yes, we can all win!