I’ve noticed something interesting, it takes a lot of work to win. Whether we are talking about your job, school or life, winning – or being successful – is much more valued when work, time and effort are put in.
And really, that adds up, doesn’t it? If we didn’t have to do anything extra to win we wouldn’t put any extra value on it. It would be just another day, no noticeable victory.
But I can’t help but think celebrating milestones and wins helps us to appreciate how far we’ve come. It helps us plot the course ahead and anticipate our next win.
Winning in Life
Let’s talk about winning in life – relationships, life choices, interactions with others, who you are, etc. When I say winning I mean being successful, being authentically yourself while also working to be the best version of yourself.
God created each of us for a specific purpose and it is our responsibility to pursue it every day of our lives. How do you discover this purpose? Ask God, and then determine to do well with what is right in front of you. Love your family well, help them and care for them. Prayerfully pursue opportunities that arise. Listen for God’s direction and then obey it.
Who we associate with greatly determines our winning in life. Bad company corrupts good morals. Find like-minded friends and build relationships with them. Don’t let the temptation for any friends outweigh the need for quality friends. It is far better to have no friends then have friends that distract you from God.
It takes a lot of work to have quality relationships, but believe me it is worth it! And that is a glimpse of winning in life!
Winning in Education
I almost put winning in school, but learning shouldn’t end when schooling is over. Depending on vocation chosen, perhaps you’ll go on to nursing school or training to be a lawyer. Or if you are like me, further education is self-imposed – business courses, educational books, etc.
Much like winning in life, winning in education should have the same focus – does it bring glory to God? Education as we know it has gone off the rails. You might be going for finance training and be forced into a gender studies class. It’s a mess.
Perhaps a re-evaluation is necessary. Don’t let strangers fill your mind with garbage. We never do right by doing wrong, and being brainwashed with evil agendas is never right. Ask God for a way of escape – He always gives one – and ask for wisdom to see it. Perhaps a local professional will take you on as an apprentice or perhaps you need to choose a different vocation.
It takes a lot of work to win in education. The path of least resistance might say don’t worry about the excess garbage taught. But I truly believe it is important to God what we expose ourselves to and it would be wise if we made it important to ourselves too.
Winning in Work
Winning in work isn’t about a big paycheck. Don’t get me wrong, reimbursement for our work in the form of money is lovely and even necessary, but it’s not everything. Are we honoring God in our work? Are we representing Him to the best of our ability and bringing glory to His name? That’s winning.
You can be a dishwasher and bring glory to God just as long as you are the best dishwasher you can be. That is winning in work! On the flipside, you might own multiple businesses and have many people working for you. As long as you are being your best and honoring God, you are winning.
It takes a lot of work to win. Plenty of people skate by in a state of mediocrity and they seem to do okay. But God hasn’t called us to mediocrity, He has called us to excellence. Excellence in all things – life, education, work, etc.
Pay close attention to the little things and purpose today to hold fast to honoring God. It is said that the enemy of best is second best because it almost looks like the real thing. But it is a distraction. The enemy doesn’t try to distract us with the worst thing, that would be too obvious. But second best? I rather think it is built into our human response to figure out how to make things work. Second best is so close to best we can just fudge it and call it a win, right?
Pray, grow your relationship with God, and He will direct you. He’s not trying to trick you so learn to measure all things by God’s standards. It may take time, but He will make your path clear. It takes a lot of work to win and understand where He is leading, but it is always more than worth it!
I pray this encourages you to put in the work, to pursue God and get to know Him in more depth!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
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