No team trains to lose, and no athlete runs or partakes in a race or game without having the mind to win.
Life is a race and we must all have the right mindset to win the various races of life.
If asked the mission of the Dallas Cowboys each season, the response would be to win the Super Bowl. However, several seasons came and they fell short of the goal but each season they renew their commitment to achieve this goal. This is how we should be committed to winning. There would be times of shortfalls but we are not to give up on the goal to win.
The Dallas Cowboys can only achieve their goal to win the Super Bowl by winning games. Games are won by hard work in training and strong determination to win. It is not by mere wish only but by strategic and intentional actions that produces desired results. Certain things are expected to be put in place to measure and produce a positive outcome.
Imagine what a game would be like if the teams just lined up and played each other going up and down the field but didn’t bother to keep the score? How do you determine the winner? And if a team considers itself as not a good team, how would they ever think they could win a game? You will agree that the mindset must be right and proper for the desired or expected outcomes.
Apostle Paul reminds us to have a winning mindset in his letter to the church in Corinth. He reminisced by asking and making his points clear with life experiences that we can relate to as examples and key components to winning a race.
One of such is 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV) below.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Key components to your winning:
- Must be a contestant and not a by-stander to contend for the prize. V24
- Contestants are competitors and must be goal oriented for the reward. The reward here is a changed life and eternity with Christ in Heaven. V24b
- All athletes train to win. There is no way around it. You must regularly train to master your skills and perfect your tactics to win. V25
- Know what is at stake; it’s worth and essence – perishable vs imperishable. V26
- Be willing to make needed sacrifices to win. Shedding of weight and having the right mindset is key here. V27
- Do everything possible to be approved and favorable to win the race. Avoid being disqualified. Abide by the rules. V27b
Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
There are many people watching and cheering for you to win. You cannot allow yourself to let them down because you running and winning the race is the reason they will run and win too.
The words of Mohammed Ali reminds me of the many temptations I had to quit running the race when I thought I was not winning. He said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
Wow, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. That is why share the perspectives of Vince Lombardi who said,
“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”
You cannot afford to live the rest of your life as a loser. Be determined and be consistent to winning. Join the Winning Team of Jesus Christ today. Enlist in His team by believing and trusting Him with your life. Attend church services regularly for your training sessions. Network with believers with same winning mindset. You can be rest assured that your victory is sure using the JEAN approach! God bless you 🙏
Don’t forget to come for this event on Saturday October 30th @ 8:30am
