Romans 8:37 – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  NKJV

             I heard of a high school football team that had not won a game in years and one senior on the team stood at the pep-rally and said, “I’m tired of losing, therefore…”  He did not finish and the administrators began to fidget, the coaching staff squirmed uneasily in their seats, the team looked at each other somewhat bewildered and the student body was totally silent.  Then something began to happen and started sweeping through the gymnasium until the entire student body erupted with, “THEREFORE… THEREFORE… THEREFORE…”  They understood what the, therefore, was there for and the attitude of losing began to shift from losing to winning and on that Friday night they won the game in a dominating fashion.  Why?  Because they changed their mindset and attitude.  They became fed up with losing and as they changed their mind, they found their commitment shifted and their ability to execute on the field also changed.  It took one person to remind them they were in a rut and if they were going to be free of the spirit of losing they had to CHANGE THEIR MINDS and TRANSFORM THEIR THINKING.

Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  It could be rendered, “Be transformed by your new attitude” or “continue to transform yourselves by the new ideas that mold your mind.”  You do not have to wait for success to knock on your door it is waiting for you in the Word of God.

Please do not misinterpret what I’m saying as “mind over matter” or anything of the sort but I am 100% convinced from my study of the Bible that it is possible for us to TRAIN OUR MINDS to think better.  We can break free of the ruts of defeat by allowing God to expose us to possibilities.  I heard of a young man, who, while reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 became inspired with an idea of overcoming the “self-sabotaging habits” of anger and selfishness in his life.  He decided that he would memorize this passage and for 30 days meditate on the verses almost continually.  The result was amazing, as he repeated the Word of God daily and allowed it to become so much a part of his thinking, he became relaxed and his thoughts turned to how he could demonstrate those words in his life.  He was radically transformed in thirty days by the Word of God.

In the Bible, one of the great WINNERS we read about has to be King David.  He, in my view, embodied at least four characteristics and/or attitudes of winners.

• WINNERS Respond to the Challenge, not the Problem.

1 Samuel 17:23-27 we find David facing Goliath.  The enemy was incredibly large and the Bible tells us that the breastplate he wore weight approximately 200 pounds. He carried a spear that was 8′ long and the head weight 25 pounds.  That’s a pretty formidable opponent, right?  David could have only looked at the problem standing before him and failed but he looked beyond or through Goliath into the Promises of God, the Power of God, and the Person of God.  He saw the solution not simply the problem.  We need to learn to look through not at the problem.

• WINNERS Do Not Allow Themselves to be Shaped or Defined by Circumstances, Criticisms or the Opinions of Others.

1 Samuel 17:28-33 we find Eliab, David’s older brother trying to deflate David’s Champion Attitude and press him into a defeatist mode.  He belittled David and attempted to shame and embarrass him.  He even questioned David’s integrity and King Saul also tried to dissuade him but David would have none of it.  He saw what he saw and believed what he believed.   If you judge after the flesh you will fail but if you judge after the Spirit you will succeed.

Paul instructed in 2 Corinthians 5:16, “From now on we recognize no man according to the flesh.”  1 Corinthians 1:27, “God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:10, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”  Then in 1 Samuel 16:7 we read, “The Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”   That’s the key!

• WINNERS Live by what God’s Word Says, not by what They See, Hear or Imagine in the Natural.

Consider 1 Samuel 17 and verses 8, 10, 11, and 23.   Verse 8 we find Goliath standing and shouting his threats… In verse 10 we read, “The Philistine [Goliath] said…”  Verse 11 tells us that Israel heard his words and verse 23, that Goliath spoke the same words to David and David heard them… There was a battle for David’s mind taking place before he ever picked up one stone.  The Battle of Words we all face in life when faced with problems or negative circumstances.  It was the battle of Goliath’s words versus God’s words.  David had a choice and he made the right one!  In another post, I will list the twelve (12) lies the enemy will commonly use against us but are all lies we can disregard and reject.

• WINNERS Respond with Courage to Seemingly Impossible Challenges.

You and I have a choice.  We can live in fear of faith.  We can trust what we see in the natural or what we know in the spiritual.  We can be a wimp or a winner and the choice is ours.  God has already cast His ballot for winning and only waits for us to agree with Him and allow the Holy Spirit to “renew our minds” and thereby “transform” our lives.

            God bless you as you move into the Winner’s Circle in Jesus!