Win-Win


Hab 3:17 Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, Though 

	the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens 

	are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, 

Hab 3:18 I'm singing joyful praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior 

	God.

Hab 3:19 Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a 

	deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain!
	

	There is an attitude of the heart that is made available to the one who has made 

Jesus their Lord. This is a winning attitude that finds a motivation for praise in every 

single situation in life, good or bad. There is no way to be defeated with this attitude, 

because the greatest challenge becomes yet another opportunity for the demonstration of 

the power of God. This attitude is found in identifying with the life of Christ in which 

Jesus found His greatest victory in His greatest apparent defeat. Jesus had a day in which 

everything appeared to be going great. Everyone was treating Him like a king and 

shouting out His praises. It was definitely a day of glory for Him, but as victorious as He 

appeared to be, it was not the victory celebration of that day which would set Him apart 

from any other. It would be the moment of His apparent ultimate defeat that would yield 

His greatest victory. There was a winning attitude of His heart that saw Himself 

overcoming and victorious, regardless of whether He was enjoying the pre-game pep 

rally or late in the last minutes of the game with a seemingly insurmountable margin to 

victory. He was just a winner, come what may, and the greater the challenge, the greater 

the opportunity for the reality of His winning ability to be of use. His victory never came 

until there was something to defeat, so the absence of obstacles would have meant the 

absence of glorious victory. 

	While Jesus was the greatest winner of all time, this winning attitude can be 

observed in other men that have risen to greatness. The greatest war heroes were the ones 

that got to bring the winner that they were to the battle and demonstrate their superior 

ability there on the battlefield. And, the most glorious of battle stories were not the ones 

when all looked well throughout the battle, but those when there was a time in which all 

seemed lost. Men of greatness in business went through times when there was no 

apparent way they would make it, but somehow found in that moment their greatest 

opportunity for success and the discovery of what would define them to all as winners. 

The most celebrated athletes are the ones that found their moment of glory at a time when 

defeat was certain to all and people were going home already. Somehow, instead of just 

hanging their heads in defeat and allowing the situation to declare them the loser before 

the game was even over, they raised their heads in a victor's countenance and took that 

attitude to the field of play. 



2Co 1:9  We felt like we'd been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned 

	out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own 

	strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally--not a bad idea 

	since he's the God who raises the dead! 

2Co 1:10  And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again, rescuing us 

	as many times as we need rescuing. 



	We have been made to be more than conquerors in Christ. In Him we have 

everything we need to be victorious in every situation. All we need is the attitude of a 

winner. For this ability we have in Him to be of any use, though, it has to be applied to 

the challenges that arise with a conviction that we have the Greater one on our side and 

He is faithful to bring us through victorious every time. Then, the winner that we are in 

Him gets to demonstrate His power and His might in the good times and in the difficult 

ones. As we experience this application of His help to us in our hard times, we also find 

ourselves bringing encouragement and the praise of His glory to another person in need 

of a winning attitude. We are able to inspire each other to press on towards the victory 

prize and the full realization of the conquerors He's made us to be. When things go well-

we win. When things are challenging-we win. All things work together for good to those 

who are called to victory as winners in Him. 



2Cor 1:16 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we

	are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to 

	your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also 

	our hard times. 

2Cor 1:17 When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the 

	good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it. 




4/2/04