Defeat

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. Psalm 60:12

As I passed by the coffee stand at our ferry this morning I noticed the ‘quote for the day’ on the chalkboard. It read…”Don’t confuse a single defeat with final defeat.” (It was attributed to one F Scott Fitzgerald, a writer of some note.)

If Abraham Lincoln had confused a single defeat with final defeat he would never have become president of the United States of America and I am sure that the same can be said for many a famous person. Winston Churchill led England to victory in World War II after suffering political and personal defeats.

How we handle any defeat depends on our attitude and upon our ability to see beyond it and to believe that this is not the end, but rather an opportunity to do better next time. We can use it as a springboard to something greater.

Joshua and Caleb were “defeated at the polls” by the other ten spies with whom they had been sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan which God had promised would be their land if they would believe Him to help them conquer it. Joshua and Caleb saw the wonderful land that God was giving them and believed God’s word of promise. On the other hand the other ten saw the great bounty of the land but they saw the giants as insurmountable problems – they didn’t see God in their picture (Numbers 13). We know that Joshua and Caleb were the only two in a whole generation who lived to enter the promised land – because they believed God. The rest died in the wilderness, never to see what God could do.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were faced with defeat in their attempt to stand firm in honouring God, but as they faced the fiery furnace they said, “You can put us in the fire but we know that our God is able to deliver us.” And He did! (Daniel 3).

Peter faced defeat and great personal humiliation when he denied Jesus in His greatest hour of need. He could have said to himself, “I blew it, never again can I trust myself to be strong enough to stand firm against fear”, yet he answered Jesus’ invitation to return with the other disciples and meet the resurrected Lord. He allowed Jesus to restore him and in doing so he forgave himself and went on to do amazing things for God, not in his own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit working mightily through him.

Have you been defeated in an area of your life? Have you closed the door to the possibility of victory? Have you given up hope? Will you try again, face your failure, lay it before the Lord and ask Him what he wants you to learn from this and how you can use it to grow?

Defeats often, though not always, reveal our character weaknesses. We all have areas that need to be worked on. Don’t lose heart, learn from it. If nothing else you will have a story to share which may, perhaps, help another person to avoid making the same mistake that caused your defeat. Draw wisdom from your defeat. It doesn’t have to be final, it can be a stepping stone to growth and greater things. The secret is to believe and not lose hope.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, here I stand, defeated but I choose not to despair. Please help me to learn the lesson you have for me so that I can move on to a brighter future, walking with you into the full purposes you have for my life. Thank you for the love, the forgiveness and the hope that I find in you. Your mercies are new every morning. Amen