[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]No one wants to be a loser in life. We all want to win. We want to be a champion.
As I was getting ready to talk to you, the question that came to my mind was this: What simple advice can I give my friends so that they can become champions of God? What do you need to do to make a difference? What do you need to do to achieve your dreams?
Many who have done great things for God began growing in faith and character when they were young. If you want to be a giant, you must first develop a giant’s mind. Think of Joseph, a young man when his story began, who was used to save a nation from starvation. Think of Moses, who was prepared from his childhood to lead God’s children out of Egypt. Think of young David, who became the king who shepherded the nation. And think of Josiah, who became king when he was eight years old (2 Kings 22:1). You do not have to wait until you finish college to become a giant of God. If you want to be a giant of God tomorrow, you have to start today so that when tomorrow comes, you are ready to serve God powerfully.
The character you are building today is the foundation of your success tomorrow. Be a champion. The Biblical story of King Josiah gives us three lessons to become giants of God.
The three lessons that this child king wants to give you today are: Focus on developing yourself, focus on small victories, and focus on living for God.
Concentrate on your personal development to be a champion
How we see ourselves can shape the choices we make and the goals we dare to pursue. If you want to be a giant of God, you first need to develop a giant’s mind. If your mind is not ready to reach the top of the mountain, it will be much harder to get there. A Christian who has a negative image of himself/herself, who considers themselves to have little value, who is not important, who has low self-esteem, may struggle to understand the place and value that Christ gives him/her as a child of God.
The Bible is full of incredible promises for the children of God. But the problem is that we do not always believe in those promises because we do not think of ourselves as worthy of them.
If persistent sadness, hopelessness, or very low self-worth weigh on you, that is not a spiritual failure. It can be a sign of depression or anxiety, and a licensed professional can help.
If you want to be a champion…
My friend, if you want to be a champion, you need to understand that your identity is not in Hollywood, or what society calls “normal” in this world. Your Creator is the One who gives you your identity. Develop yourself around the plan that your Creator has for you, and not around what the media says about you as a person.
The enemy wants you to believe the lies that have chained this world into misery. Satan wants you to believe that you are not good enough, that you are not perfect enough, that you are not intelligent, that you are too fat, or too skinny. If you see yourself through those lies, you will struggle to see yourself as God sees you.
But, if you look at yourself through God’s eyes, you will realize that He has created you to be a champion in this world, to be the head and not the tail. Negative thoughts can rise like walls in your life, and they can keep you from believing in yourself.
Josiah was young, and he could have believed that he was too young to lead a nation. Instead, he set out in his heart to seek God: “In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David” (2 Chronicles 34:3, NIV).
Focus on celebrating small victories to be a champion tomorrow
The second piece of advice is to focus on the little things. Anyone who has tried to sleep with a mosquito in the room knows the impact that something small can have. Celebrate small victories. Great victories are nothing more than the accumulation of many small victories.
Many people find that celebrating small steps helps them stay motivated and satisfied with what they do. Small victories are the prelude to great victories. No one reaches the top without first walking through the valley. Develop a winner mentality by celebrating small victories every day.
You cannot get a college degree if you do not first win the battle of doing your homework and studying every day. Besides, you cannot lose weight if you do not first celebrate the small victories of eating right and exercising every day. You will not be able to relate well to other people tomorrow if you do not first celebrate the victory of treating your parents with compassion and love.
Besides, you cannot win the victory of avoiding having sex before marriage if you do not first win the daily battle in purity. You will not be able to win the victory of living eternally with God if you do not first celebrate the small daily victories of walking every day with Jesus.
Josiah and the small victories
Josiah’s story grew from small beginnings. Scripture says that, while he was still young, he began to seek God (2 Chronicles 34:3). In his twelfth year as king he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols (2 Chronicles 34:3), and in the eighteenth year of his reign the Book of the Law was found in the temple (2 Chronicles 34:8, 14-15). Those first steps served as a trampoline for all the other victories he achieved in his life.
The Olympic swimmer
Michael Phelps is a living example of winning small victories. Phelps is the Olympic swimmer who has won the most medals in swimming in the history of the sport. There are many reasons for Phelps to be successful as a swimmer, including how hard he trains. Reports about his preparation describe steady daily routines and mental preparation for the unexpected.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, that preparation was tested. During the 200-meter butterfly final, Phelps’s goggles filled with water, and he could barely see.
Phelps did not let panic control him
He kept swimming, and, according to reports, he counted his strokes to know where the wall was. When he reached the end, he looked at the scoreboard, and next to his name it said WR. Michael Phelps had set a world record despite the obstacle he had! His daily preparation had helped him stay calm.
Focus on God
My third piece of advice is: to focus on God to be a champion. If you want to be a giant of God, He needs to be the center of your life. To understand this, God is the source of wisdom, understanding, and all pleasure. Satan does not want you to understand. He tries to make you think that he is the source of all success in this world.
Satan will offer you material possessions as if they were the solution to your problems. He will offer you sex and drugs as a source of pleasure. Satan will offer you dishonesty as a way to reach the top. But in the end, death is the result: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, NIV).
Focus on God, and ask Him to shape the desires of your heart. Thus, King Josiah was focused on living for God. God became the first thing in his life, the first thing in his family and nation. Josiah gave us an example of true zeal for Him. He “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left” (2 Kings 22:2, NIV).
The only One who can offer you eternal life
My friend, I challenge you to focus on living for God. At the end of the road, He is the only One who can offer you eternal life. He is the only One who can bring meaning to your life. For me, a life centered on God is a life with a future. God is the only One who remains when everything else is lost.
So, live for God as a giant, and look forward to what “no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”, the things God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV).
What do you do every day to be a champion in your life? Your comments will bless many people today.
Would you like to talk with a professional? Call (407) 559-7093 (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern) or find professional help here. For general questions that are not an emergency, write to drduany@zodugroup.com. Please do not send health information by email.
This article is for education only. It does not offer diagnosis or personal advice, does not replace evaluation or treatment by a health professional, and reading it or writing to us through this site does not create a therapeutic or pastoral counseling relationship. This site is not an emergency service and is not monitored continuously: do not send health information through comments or public forms. The author is a licensed psychotherapist and pastor, and is part of ZODU.
Sources
- Scripture (NIV): 2 Kings 22:1-2; 2 Chronicles 34:3, 8, 14-15; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:9.
- Michael Phelps and Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Men’s 200 metre butterfly (Wikipedia).
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