FEELING DEFEATED. IT’S ONLY A FEELING

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-10.

It seems that discouragement has a way of finding us. Discouragement may begin as a small, unwitting annoyance or a minor frustration you can’t shake. Maybe a job interview didn’t go the way you’d hoped. Maybe God closed the door on a relationship, or you desired a different outcome on something. Maybe some more significant things aren’t going as you hoped, and discouragement is morphing into defeat.

For the Christian, feeling defeated is no more than a feeling. You are not defeated if you have God in your life. You don’t need to be defeated by anything. Why? Because of the enormous power of God. This isn’t to minimize circumstances. Life can be overwhelming. And if you are in the midst of troubles and woes just now, it may seem like winning is impossible.

Remember the story of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego faced a literal fire when they refused to worship a manmade image. How could they survive? Defeat looked probable. But look at their faith: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).

They remind us that God is able. He can change our circumstances or provide us with a way through. He can protect us from the flames or carry us through the pain of the flames. The three Hebrew boys had no idea what the outcome of their stance would be. They only knew they could not bow down to that image of gold. We can see how the story ends, but they did not. They could easily have viewed defeat as the probable outcome.

We’ve been in situations like that before. We’ve wished we knew the end of the story and could see the victory. But that is not how it works. We need to live through our joys and sorrows, our knowns and unknowns, with a faith that reminds us that God is able. Even when we feel defeated, we can still choose to worship and serve Him.

We are not defeated because of who Christ is and the gift He has given us.

Discussion Questions:

It is impossible to be defeated when you are a child of God! Agree or disagree and why?