If you’re like me, you hate losing. In fact, I detest the phrase “winning isn’t everything” since it seeks to minimize the legitimate sense of disappointment and upset we naturally feel when we lose a competition, whether a sporting event or something else. Fortunately, there’s a secret way to never truly lose at anything in life, one that’s helped me weather scenarios where others only see tremendous loss.
That probably sounds too good to be true, I get it, but the reality is this technique works so well. But many won’t try it because it requires a steep price.
What’s required of you is the Surrender, or in other words sacrifice on a level far too many are never willing to give.
After all, in our society we’re taught to struggle and hold onto all we can, hoarding resources, experiences, relationships, even our identity. But I’ll tell you right now that’s a surefire way to lose and sooner or later to lose big time.
I’ve seen it happen over and over with people who are super successful. Friends who make fantastic money, have all the things people desire, then suffer a crippling financial setback which causes them to lose most if not all of it.
Others who have a rich family life, only for a car accident to rip that apart. Those who love to travel and experience other cultures suddenly racked with a medical condition that leaves them bedridden and hovering near death.
I could go on, but you probably get the idea.
The Surrender is when you take all that you value and hold dear, offering it up onto the altar of sacrifice to God. That’s a hard thing to do because you naturally want to hold on, to not let go, all in a quest to preserve what you love. And yet if you do that, you’re sure to lose.
The secret to always winning is instead of seeking desperately to do what you want, instead to engage in the Surrender, then seek God’s purpose in your life. When you secure what He wants you to do, even if you “fail” in the traditional sense, you’re fulfilling God’s will and you are in fact winning eternally. If you do just that and fall flat on your face, that’s consecrated as a sacrifice to Him. You will learn and grow from the experience.
Loss is a part of this mortal existence and there’s no getting around that. But losing when you’re following God’s will leads to gain and increase, in the long run. That’s how you never truly lose.
Image via cottonbro studio/Pexels
Steven Symes 