HOW TO WIN

HO W TO WIN

There are many definitions of the word ‘winner’ but what that I like a lot is from the Cambridge dictionary. Winner - a goal or shot that wins a match or point.

Of course, this is relevant in sport, but I like it because it let’s us know that to win is something you do. It is a target you smash, a goal you reach. To be a winner is not passive and no matter how many times you have failed, you as a person cannot be defined as a loser because each activity gives you a new chance to win. Below are some tips that will help you to win in your next assignment.

1. Stand strong in the face of persecution

In Acts 6-7 we read about a great man called Stephen. He wasn’t one of the Apostles. He was selected to help serve food to the widows so that the Apostles could spend more time in prayer. He didn’t seem insulted by this. He was selected because he was deemed to be someone of wisdom and faith who was full of the Holy Spirt. Even though he was basically a food server to widows, he performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. I imagine lines of widows turning up to receive their food but in addition to being given food, blind eyes were being healed and the lame were walking.

Could this be you or you are waiting to be married or waiting until you have a ministerial title or a level of education?

Anytime someone is enthusiastic for God, next thing, persecution comes. Some men from the synagogue started to debate with Stephen but found that they couldn’t beat his wisdom. If we translate this into today’s setting, some people in the church were jealous of what Stephen was doing and tried to bring him down a peg or two. when that didn't work, they decided to make up lies about him.

Of course, they didn’t do the dirty work themselves but instead persuaded others to do it for them, to say that Stephen had blasphemed against Moses and God. This got Stephen arrested. Rather than fight, he preached a sermon to his accusers.

He stood strong despite the persecution. As a result, the Heavens opened, and he saw the Glory of God! He even asked God to forgive his killers before he died!

We would have respected Stephen for not denying God, but he went the extra mile and preached to his accusers.

How was he able to stay so strong?

He was full of the Holy Spirit and Power. As soon as we are not full of the Spirit, if we are empty, we will flounder. He knew that death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person, eternal separation from God is.

You are never a loser with God. Even in the face of persecution, you are a winner in God.

2. Go where God sends you

Being in the will of God is a sure-fire way of being a winner. This means going where God sends you. In Acts 9:1-19 we read how Saul who had been persecuting and killing Christians, encountered God powerfully on the Road to Damascus. Just after this, God told a man called Ananias that he should go and lay hands on Saul so that his sight would return. Ananias was horrified and even argued with God because he was afraid of what Saul would do to him! But in the end, he obeyed and was used powerfully by God to restore Saul’s (now Paul) sight and baptise him. If you have been blessed at all by Paul’s writings, then you owe thanks to Ananias for his obedience!

I am sure he never knew that his actions would have had such an impact on future generations.

Think of your biggest physical enemy, now picture God asking you to go and minister to the person, what would you say?

Being a winner is to be used by God but if we don't go where He sends us then how can we be used by Him?

3. Exercise your authority

Galatians 1:1 says “This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead”.

If the people around you witness you continually walking in defeat, overwhelmed by your circumstances, discouraged and angry with yourself and others, will they want what you have? If you can’t claim authority over your own life, why would they allow you to tell them how to claim authority over their own issues?

On the other hand, if people see you are generous, encouraged, energised, joyful despite difficult circumstances and peaceful, they will get the impression that you have something that they want.

When you exercise the authority that Christ has given you, your lifestyle becomes irresistible to others.

4. Swim against the tide

1 Peter 4:1 says “So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin”. Vs 4-5 says, “Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead”.

Swimming against the current is extremely difficult. In this instance it means leaving our past behind and not doing the sinful things that everyone else insists is ‘normal’. Without a rock to hold onto, we would float away which is why we must cling to Jesus. Swimming against the tide in an unrighteous world is hard but don’t give up and go with the flow. God is a steady immovable rock, cling to Him.

5. Model Integrity

Titus 2:7-8 says, “And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. 8 Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us".

Jude 1: 3-4 says “Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. 4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ”.

Integrity means doing what we say will do and doing it to a standard of holiness and righteousness. Rather than waste our energy throwing stones at those who lack integrity, let us invest energy into modelling it and praising others who do the same.

6. Be emotionally stable

Many of us will have heard about IQ which stands for Intelligence Quotient and it measures intellectual ability. There is also EQ which stands for Emotional Quotient. EQ measures the ability of a person to control their emotions and manage their anger and actions so that they don’t destroy the things they have invested in. To be a winner we cannot be controlled by our emotions. Neither can we be prone to emotional outbursts and temper tantrums. Rather, we must be emotionally stable so that we will be successful.

Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare”. Also, Ephesians 4:26 says, “And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry”.

Remember that you have a choice when to be silent. If you know that you will speak unwisely because of heightened emotions, then it is better for you to refrain from talking at that time. Additionally, have an understanding of who you are and whose you are. This should put your emotions into perspective.

By Andrea Onduku