You Win Some, You Learn Some
No, that title is not a typo. It’s a line from a country song.
We’re used to hearing “you win some and you lose some.” But what if we never lose? What if life isn’t a competition to win or lose, but a race of endurance? What if the challenge is to finish well and not give up.
Paul wrote this to Timothy (his mentee) . . .
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
He doesn’t say he won or lost. He simply says, “I fought well, I finished, and I didn’t give up the faith.”
We’re all enrolled in the University of Life. We learn most from the hard classes. When life is easy . . . when it feels like we’re winning, we usually glide. But when things are hard, when we feel like “if it’s to be, it’s up to me,” we ‘get up on the wheel,’ pay attention, call for help, and reach deep inside ourselves for reserves. That’s when we learn. (And when we find out who our friends are!)
We learn the most when we humble ourselves and, in prayer ask, “Lord what are you teaching me here?” Then apply what we learn the next time around. That’s called wisdom. It becomes examined experience.
Paul learned a lot in the tough times. Get this . . .
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:12)
Question: What if we switched our focus from winning to finishing well?
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