What can we learn about God from victory and defeat?
Deuteronomy 20:4“The Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!”
Psalm 3:8Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people.
Psalm 44:3-4They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them.
Psalm 48:10As your name deserves, O God, you will be praised to the ends of the earth. Your strong right hand is filled with victory.
Proverbs 21:31The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
Winning all the time does not train us to overcome. We often learn to trust God by watching him act on our behalf when defeat seems imminent and sure. Ultimate victory belongs to those who trust God to help them.
1 Kings 8:33-34If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave their ancestors.
2 Chronicles 7:14-15Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place.
In order for us to become closer to God, it may be necessary for us to lose a few battles. God can use all things, even our failures, to show us more of who he is.
Psalm 119:67, 71I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word. . . . My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
Sometimes we need to suffer under God’s discipline in order for God to shape us into the people he wants us to be.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
In our areas of weakness, God’s strength is most evident. Allowing God to work through our weaknesses forces us to acknowledge that the victory is his.
2 Corinthians 1:8-10We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
Our times of defeat teach us to rely on God. When all is well, we may think we don’t need God. When experience defeat, we discover first-hand how much we need God.
