A winner .... is not afraid of losing
A loser .... is secretly afraid of winning
Rom:8:37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us.
2Cor:2:14: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in
Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every
place..
It is always interesting to see the perennial never enough mentality of
people. Our provision in life is so many times dictated by our vision.
The word provision has an interesting etymology. Pro - before Videre - to
see. Literally to see beforehand.
Gen22:8: And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a
burnt offering: so they went both of them together.9: And they came to the
place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid
the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon
the wood.10: And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to
slay his son. 11: And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12: And he said, Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son
from me. 13: And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind
him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the
ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14:
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to
this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. (The Lord Our
Provider - Jehovah Jireh)
The Hebrew word, jireh, here means exactly as the Latin, provision. They
are both compounds of "to see before." The concept is that God sees what we
need before we even get to the point of need and "pro-vides" it.
Winners understand the needs of life are "provided". What about the wants?
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and
it will be given you. John 15:7 NIV
Winners remain and position themselves to receive. Remaining in Jesus is a
posture of prayer and righteousness. Our standing in Him is based on His
atoning work on the cross. Dead, buried, and risen with Him, we stand in
full stead as a son before the Father of the Universe. All our needs are
met according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Remaining, abiding,
dwelling, habituating....in His city, in His dwelling place, in the courts
of
our God, in the secret place places us in the constant position of
protection and provision through prayer.
Like Abraham they are unafraid to take the challenge because they know that
"My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." They
ultimately believe that what they need will be there when they get there.
Winners stay positioned in God, in conversation with God, and believe for
victory in God.
This one will take more than one session. God really is a WYSIWYG (What You
See Is What You Get) God. The flip side is that winners know they can
recover from any loss at any time... Next week on that
one..mailto:plarson@copwoc.org
Can I really believe that God will pro-vide? mailto:plarson@copwoc.org
Am I willing to drop my belief that He will only go so far in some area and
that He won't be abundant? mailto:plarson@copwoc.org
Father, Convince me. Show me. Encourage me to see what You see. Strip
fear of losing out of me. Strip the idea that life is meant to only get by
with enough out of me. You promise abundance. You promise life to the max.
You tell me I can triumph in Christ Jesus, not just get by. Help me see
beyond what I see.