How to Be a Champion for the Lord

08/01/24 – 08/18/24

Champions Learn from Their Mistakes

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  08/13/24

On the tennis court, a young woman flashed a smile of admiration at her opponent after he hit a winning shot. His floating backhand carried so much spin on it that the moment it hit the court, it bounced back over the net before the woman had a chance to hit it.

Sensing that he had spotted a weakness in the woman’s game, he attempted the same shot again. But this time, the woman never let the ball hit the court. Instead, she smashed it back over the net and at her opponent’s feet for a winning shot.

A lesson learned? Most of us would hope so. However, many people fail to learn from their mistakes and are doomed to repeat them over again. Possibly, in an effort to impress his court companion, this fellow tried the shot yet again and was met with the same result. God wants us to learn from our mistakes, not just so that we don’t make the same mistakes repeatedly, but so that we gain wisdom to help us with other trials

Whenever we feel that we have already conquered a certain problem, we must take time for some serious reflection. Are we confident in our own ability or in God? In pride, do we think there is no room for improvement, or are we humbly considering ways to honor God even more—applying what we have learned to other areas of our lives?

True champions do not spend their lives trying to get it right—they spend their time getting better. If we desire to be all God has called us to be, we must be a people who are willing to strive until we get it right and then go on to get it even better!

God wants you to learn all you can from life’s difficulties. As you go through each one, ask Him to help you grow in your faith and show you ways you can honor Him with your life.

Prayer: Lord, please help me discern what lesson You want to teach me in each situation in my life. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; . . .” (Psalm 92:12).