Everybody wants to be a winner. Nobody wants to be a loser.

Perhaps though, you have the wrong ideas for these concepts. Think about some of the best of the best in the realm of sports.

In baseball, no one consistently bats a thousand. In basketball, not even the all-stars are able to maintain one hundred percent at the free throw line. And let’s not even talk about the statistics of football kickers.

What’s the unseen idea? Even the best at what they do understand that sometimes you swallow hard and accept what doesn’t look or feel like a victory. The best use the less than best experiences to build toward the next opportunity.

For the Christian, there is a similar concept. At times, your journey might not feel all that victorious. However, we don’t live by feelings or by sight. “The just shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38, see also Romans 5:1-5).

Christian, when you fail, you must get back up and understand that you are called to live by faith. One of Jesus’ inner circle wrote, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).

Regardless of what it looks like, victory is in the persistent getting back up after failure. Overcomers refuse to accept an attitude of defeatism after not getting the desired result. The overcoming Christian refuses to wallow in self-pity.

Let me share my recent find from Hebrews 10. The Spirit caused this passage to stand out for me. I wrote it down on an index card and pulled it out for reading several times that day. I will underline the parts that were important to me.

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-36).

The word I emphasized in bold type grabbed ahold of my thoughts. Endurance, from the Greek hupomone, has to do with perseverance, continuance, and holding out. Literally, it describes the capacity to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a passive complacency, but with a hope that actively resists weariness and defeat.

So the fact that you have fallen doesn’t mean you can’t get back up. Perhaps you failed because your confidence was misplaced. Throw away your confidence in your self and place it back in the One who is always faithful.

Trusting in God has always led me to great reward. With every season of my life, I can testify that He has never let me down. The Lord is my banner. He is Jehovah-Nissi, the giver of my victory.

What should you do when your life doesn’t exactly look victorious?

Humble yourself. Recognize God’s presence. Understand that it is His will for you to trust Him and have the victory.

By faith, you can endure with an active hope that refuses to give up or accept defeat as a way of life. And that my friend, is the victory that I will walk in today.

Can you testify that you have the victory? Or, is your life looking a little less than victorious right now? Contact me and let me know how I can pray for you.