Frightened of winning

The downhill, or giant slalom, is one of skiing's most important and spectacular trials. These people reach speeds of 60 miles per hour as they fly across the snow. Let's face it; you'll never be any good at skiing if you're frightened of crossing that threshold where you're no longer in control of your circumstances - or even your body. Many skiers can't overcome this fear, with the result that their times are slower and they don't reach the winners' podium.

But skiing is not the only example where victory slips from our grasp because of fear; the fear of winning can also cause other sportspeople to 'lose it' when they most need it - right on the finishing line. So often you can see that someone's going to fail - because they've been living that way even before the crunch comes.

One of the keys to Christian living has to do with how we think. Many Christians are in the race, but the way they live shows they're losers. They've been beaten by their own fears: they're scared of others, scared of what others will say about them, scared they'll be thought 'weird', scared of what's ahead. These people are wallowing in fear! Isn't it odd that we, who are the sons and daughters of the most victorious being ever to exist, should live in defeat?

There's no such thing as a half-way house in the Christian life. Nowhere in the Bible does it speak of second-class believers. No, it only speaks of the sons of the KING. Why do we settle so often for crumbs when God wants to give us a slap-up meal? Why do we feel all alone when God has thousands of promises there for us to get hold of? Come on! Don't be scared of winning!

So, 'How do I go about it?' you ask. Well, just bucketloads of answers have been given; a thousand and one ways to live a victorious life; a thousand and one rules to remember. I reckon it's a lot simpler than that, and it boils down to one thing: fight/labour in God's strength and not your own; live God's way; act and think the way he does. Be like our heavenly father!

We don't have much to offer God, except our fear... but he turns it around and fills us with power - power enough to win! It is our God-given right to live in victory!

Yes, outwardly things remain the same: we live with the same problems, the same hardships, the same frustrations... but there is a difference, a BIG difference: we face them all in God's strength and power.