Dealing with losing while running the race

Genesis 50:19-20 But Joseph said to [his brothers], "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Derek Redmond was favored to win the 400 meter race in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Halfway into his semi-final heat, he suffered a torn hamstring. Spectators in the first few rows said that they could actually hear the “pop” from his hamstring when it tore. As the medical team was approaching, Derek pushed through them to try to finish the race. A big man had come through the stands and out of the crowd.

“You don’t have to do this,” he told his weeping son. “Yes, I do,” Derek declared. “Well, then,” his dad said, “we’re going to finish this together.”

And they did! His dad wrapped Derek’s arm around his shoulder and helped him hobble to the finish line. As the two of them struggled on, the roar and the clapping of the crowd became louder and louder. Derek had lost the heat. There was no way that he could compete for the gold medal in the 400 meters. But no one cared. He had lost the race, but that was OK. He had finished the race. And that’s what made him a winner – to himself, to his father, and to everyone cheering for him.

Joseph was the favored son of his father, Jacob. God had also given Joseph some wonderful dreams about his family members one day bowing down to him. Yet Joseph very quickly lost everything. Joseph wasn’t much older than you when his brothers threw him into a pit. They betrayed their brother and handed him over to some foreigners for a few coins. The lies of Potiphar’s wife landed Joseph in jail. Joseph lost everything – his home, his family, his dignity. We can’t even begin to know what Joseph went through physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually as an innocent man sentenced to a foreign jail for years. Yet God permitted it. “God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Our Lord Jesus was the favored and only-begotten Son of His heavenly Father. He was betrayed into the hands of foreigners for a few coins. The lies of religious leaders landed Jesus in jail. When He was forsaken by His heavenly Father, He experienced the separation of body and spirit and the anguish of hell. He was the innocent Lamb of God dieing for the sins of Joseph’s brothers, the sins of Joseph, the sins of Potiphar’s wife, of Potiphar, of Caiaphas, of Pilate … and each one of your sins. His suffering is beyond comprehension, and yet God permitted it. “God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Jesus appeared to be such a loser, and yet, at the end, He was the great Winner of salvation for all mankind.

As you go through life, you are going to lose at all kinds of things – losing on the basketball court or soccer field, losing good grades in the classroom, losing friends, losing your health, losing your parents to divorce, losing your grandparents to death.

But it is in this weakness and suffering where we see the Lord God Almighty most clearly. In fact, it is while we are suffering that we find relief in Christ. It is while we are weak that we find strength in Christ. It is when we are in pain that we find joy in Christ. It is when we are losing that we remember that we are already made winners in Christ.

Jesus’ suffering brings our relief. His death gives us life. His bursting forth from the grave brings us resurrection, and we with the many are saved.

And while we are losing, God is making us into someone like Joseph. He is preparing us for future leadership and the saving of many lives. God does not forget us. God is refining us. God is preparing us for future service for Him and for each other. That’s when those who appear to be losers are really winners in Jesus.

Questions:

Have you ever had an experience that was bad when you were going through it but after some time had passed, was really turned out well?

What are some things you have lost in life? What are some gifts God has given you to take your mind off your losses?

How do you think God can use you as a leader?

 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, all too often we are made to feel like losers in this world. It is at times like this that we need to remember that you have already made us winners in your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.