Refuse to Lose Today!
I trust you had a great Thanksgiving celebration with your family and friends, but more importantly, I want you to remember that Thanksgiving is not a DAY, Thanksgiving is a WAY. The foundation of gratitude is one that must constantly be poured day-by-day.
As we come toward the end of the year, I hope that you will encourage those around you to look for the things in their life and businesses for which they are truly grateful. Perhaps a good exercise is to establish a gratitude box in your office and in your home, when people all write one-word notes of the things they are grateful for right now. Then, when you gather around for a meeting or a meal simple reach into the box and take out a few slips of paper and read the gratitude posts without comment. I promise you it will always bring a smile to your face and a sincerity to your heart. It is impossible to be grumpy and grateful at the same time. Gratitude always sets the stage for the next steps!
This past weekend I was watching the Carolina Panthers host the Seattle Seahawks in an important football game. As I watched the game it became obvious to me that each team, while coming into the game with the same goal of victory, seemed to approach the game from a different perspective. The Panthers played from a position of “We are PLAYING TO WIN TODAY” while Seattle was postured in a position of “We WILL NOT LOSE TODAY.” At the end of the game, it was the Seahawks who were victorious. It got me to thinking about life.
As we all face the uncertainties of the future sometimes it is more about Refusing to Lose more that it is about taking unnecessary risks to offer a chance at victory. Refusing to lose means
- Realize your stewardship of everything: “The earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord.” (Ps. 24:1) Seeing all that we have as a gift from God. We are the stewards of everything. Whatever God has blessed and entrusted you with is from Him. As we keep this in mind we will become more determined to refuse to lose because this also means…
- Remain strong in our gratitude for those around us: There were no individual winners and losers in that game on Sunday. On both sides of the ball there was a team of players who collectively won or lost. Each player was the result of the impact and influence of many so many others. The winning team was more determined than the other in refusing to lose because of these influencers. The Bible says it this way“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12-1-2).
Perhaps you today need to begin to keep a running list of all those people who have influenced and impacted you and remember that because of them you refuse to lose! - Remember the Simple things:
- Never give in. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Ps. 30:5)
- Never give up. “Do not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9)
- Never give out! “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope, and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)