None of us likes to lose. Whether we’re playing Monopoly or tennis or competing for a promotion at work, we all live by the adage, “Winning’s a lot more fun.”
When it comes to the game of life, however, things get all turned inside out. God’s way is not our way. To gain victory in life, not just for now, but for eternity, we first have to surrender. Only by total surrender to God’s will can we attain total victory.
This is so hard for us to accept. We resist the very idea of surrender, of accepting our own weakness, our inability to save ourselves, but it is the only way to truly win. God promises if you “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10 NIV).
Sometimes it’s okay to lose. It all depends who you’re losing to. When you lose yourself to Jesus, you win the biggest price of all – eternal life. When we give up what’s holding us back from Jesus, we gain so much more. Don’t be afraid to surrender your life to Him today. It’s the only way to truly win the victory, both now and for eternity.
In a sense this is what God has already done for us. By giving us the power of choice, aka the freedom to turn away from Him, He surrendered control of us. He knows that the best way for us is to let Him have control but He wants us to make the choice to give Him that.
A side effect of allowing us to turn away from Him is that we are given the power to hurt each other in terrible ways. By allowing this He demonstrates the how terrible choosing to turn form Him is. It is painful for us but even more painful for Him.
Ultimately He does win though. Once everyone understands the awful nature of sin He will destroy it for eternity and thus He wins.