What can we learn from defeat? - Defeat - TouchPoints

Numbers 21:3The Lord heard the Israelites’ request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah ever since.

The Lord heard their request and gave them victory over the Canaanites.

Deuteronomy 20:4For 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. Interlude

Psalm 44:3-4,7They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strength that gave them victory. It was by your mighty power that they succeeded; it was because you favored them and smiled on 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 horses are prepared for battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

1 Peter 5:6So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you.

Winning all the time does not train us to overcome, and ultimate victory belongs to those who overcome.

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 call on your name and pray to you here in this Temple, then hear from heaven and forgive their sins 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 heal their land.

 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.

Matthew 16:25-28If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?

James 4:10When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.

When we understand defeat, we understand true victory.

Psalm 119:67, 71I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word . . . The suffering you sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your principles.

  Sometimes we have to be disciplined in order for God to shape us into the people he wants us to be.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. 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 1:8-10I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us.

Our times of defeat teach us to rely on God. When all is well, we may think we don’t need God. When defeat comes, we know we need him.