462 History and Destiny

You have a history. It’s where you have been and all have you gone through. It’s what has happened. You also have a destiny. It’s what you have been prepared for with your history and what you can step into now. Girl, you may have lost in the past, but your losing streak is over. You’ve been defeated a few times and ended up on the losing end, but your time to begin winning is now here. You were made to be a winner, but all good winners must be humble. How do we become humble? We first lose. If you never taste the bitterness of defeat, you’ll be a lousy winner. God doesn’t need any lousy winners running around spreading his message. He needs humble winners who know what it’s like to be down and who’ve overcome. Destined winners with a history. That’s what you are – you’re a destined winner with a history. Could all your struggle and all your setbacks be nothing more than a setup for your victory now? What if God always had the success in mind for you, but he knew first the defeat would be best for you? My son was on a little league football team in elementary. We were the black and yellow Tigers. The team who could never win. One entire season we never tasted victory. Every game ended in “good game boys, you tried.” Several members of the team quit or parents moved them to a winning team, while we continued to lose. The next season our boys showed back up and pulled off their first win. A few more wins followed, but mostly loses. Then there was the third season. The Tigers were the team everyone looked forward to playing, knowing it was going to be a slaying. When it was time to play the Tigers, they invited Grandma because little Johnny was surely going to score big points. BUT THEY WERE WRONG. Our losing streak was over. Our boys in black and yellow were now the toughest team in the league. That third season, they didn’t lose a single game. The championship game comes and my son is throwing up Gatorade on the sidelines during warmups. The nerves were high. These boys had dreamed of this moment when all they could do was lose. The moms had their faces painted and flags waving, making the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders look 2nd rate. Our boys won the championship game in overtime. My husband was a coach. I’m pretty sure he cried. We all cried. What made that victory so sweet were the years of defeat. What made that victory POSSIBLE were all the times they tried their best and came up short, yet showed up again. Maybe you’ve gone through seasons of defeat. Your butt has been handed to you on a silver platter. Unlike the song (all I do is win win win), all you do is lose, lose, lose. And all the while, God has allowed it. Why? Why would a good and loving God sit back and watch you lose all this time? Because he’s making you into a winner now. Not a lousy winner. A humble winner. Jesus says in Mark 8:34-36 reading from The Message translation, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?” We want to run from suffering. We want to jump ship and leave behind any resemblance of loss. That’s normal. Nobody likes defeat. Nobody wakes up and says “you know, I would like to lose today. I enjoy being a loser.” But Jesus says to embrace suffering. Why embrace it? Because it will strengthen you. The victory without defeat first will cause you to lose your way. Your way to what? Your way to who you really are and the life God created you for. God allows a losing season. He allows others to leave in pursuit of the winning team.