Do you have the faith to live as a winner? God has called each of us to excellence. He desires that we are winners and champions in this life.
King David was a winner. He had the faith to win. Does this mean he won every battle? Of course not. But he was still a champion at heart. David knew what it felt like to lose at times. He certainly knew the struggle of losing the battle of the flesh. But what made David a winner in spite of his times of loss was that he chose to have a winning heart. He believed that he was a champion; no matter the circumstance!
Proverbs 3:1-6 says:
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)
God’s promise is that when we keep His commands we will walk in blessing and prosperity and will win the favor of God! That is the promise of a champion! And, it should always be the language of a champion. We must walk like a champion! We must talk like a champion! A champion never complains or whines!
God spoke this into my spirit recently:
Winners never whine --- even if they are losing!
That takes faith to believe and to live. It takes faith to believe you are champion for God when the cares of life are groping at your feet, attempting to trip up your spirit.
Oftentimes the question may not be are we winning, but are we attempting to win. And…just what are we attempting to win? A champion for God is someone who isn’t striving to win, but already knows he is a winner! His spirit-man is confident that he has won the victory in Christ Jesus!
Our goal is not to attempt to win the approval of men, but of God! Paul said, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10, NIV)
Knowing in your heart that God is pleased with your life is to have a winning attitude. Does this mean we will not fall? Does this mean we will not fail God? Not necessarily. It’s not how hard you fall, or how often you fall, but if you get back up that makes you a winner in Christ Jesus!
God knows life is hard. That’s why He is so good…and caring…and full of grace and mercy. Do we cheapen His grace by taking it for granted? Well, you could never take God’s grace for granted and it affect His grace – even if you tried- that is really not possible. But, His grace also does not give us license to sin. Rather, His grace gives us strength to get back up. His grace promises entrance into His presence once again through repentance, and the blood of His dear Son.
Know that you are not a champion…you are not a winner…because of you. You are a winner, with a champion’s heart, because Jesus Christ lives in and works through you. And because you live according to His Word.
Again, Paul wrote: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 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 3:12-14, NIV)
So, here are a few steps to walking as a winner:
*Believe that you are a winner because God said you are and Jesus paid the price for you to be! (See II Corinthians 2:14)
*The words of your tongue and the thoughts of your heart must reflect a winning attitude! (See Psalm 19:14)
*In order to win tomorrow’s victories, you must forget about yesterday’s losses! (See Philippians 3:14)
The Bible indicated that Goliath was considered a “champion…from the camp of the Philistines” (I Samuel chapter 17). But, you and I know that it was little David – the boy with the champion warrior’s heart…David – the shepherd boy with a King’s calling…David proved to be a champion over the giant. Likewise God commands us to praise Him in victory and shout to Him with a triumphant voice over the giants we face every day! (Psalm 47:1)
I like how I Samuel 17:23 is stated in the New King James Version. There it says, “…there was the champion, the Philistine…” Prophetically, the announcement of Goliath’s arrival was also the pronouncement that he was about to be beaten by a little boy with a big calling! At least that’s my take on it.
God deserves excellence in everything. More importantly, He requires excellence. Colossians 3:23 states: “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord…” (RSV)
Do you have the faith to win today? Jesus’ blood says you do. God’s Word says you are. What say you?
