Victory Is Most Often Found In The Starting Place

​I have faced many defeats in my life. And, like you, and like everyone I suppose, I'm not a big fan of defeats.

They don't feel good.

And so I spend a lot of time processing them. Defeats. Where did this go wrong? Where did I or them or life lose their way? How did defeat wrangle its way so easily into my victory?

I have come to realize, at least for me, that answer is almost always wrapped up in the starting place and not the journey. It's almost always about where did this start and not where did this go wrong. It's almost always wrapped up in my wayward intentions and not in a derailed outcome.

Because if it starts with God, and the path is God, how can it possibly end in defeat.

Jesus on a cross sure looked like defeat, but it was not.

When our intentions start with ME, and we have our sights set on outcomes that satisfy ME, I don't think God is as enthusiastic about our reaching victory as we are. In fact, I think it's possible that God allows, and maybe even incorporates, defeats in our ME started missions to help us quicker than we otherwise would get back to a starting place of God missions.

Today is a great day for this conversation. For me to have it with you and for you to have it with yourself.

Because it's Monday. The start of a new week. And we can ask ourselves, will this week end in victory or defeat? It would be easy to say, "I don't know". How could one possibly know the answer to that, we might ask?

Well, we can know, actually.

If your week is starting with God, with an eye on serving him and living out a life that looks like him, and even if challenges arise that threaten to derail that, if we keep our eye on that starting place, God, our week will end in victory.

If you begin to lose faith in the truth of that, if you feel defeat seeping in, look to the cross. Where the starting place of murder turned into the victory of everlasting life.

But if your week is starting with ME - or I - victory isn't nearly as assured. When your week starts with ME, you don't always have the winds of the most powerful means toward victory at your back.

The cross.

God.

Because if it starts with God, it WILL end in victory. Otherwise you may spend a lot of time where I've spent a lot of time.

Processing defeat.

My prayer is that we will all choose victory this week. Because it indeed can be chosen.