Victories and Defeats

Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:74-75

… Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Matthew 27:3-5

Don't let your defeats define you.

Everyone has victories and everyone has defeats. You have to decide whether your defeats or your victories will define you as the focus of your life. If you have received victory from Jesus, no defeat that is formed against you will prosper. When you focus on the victories in your life, the defeats fall away. Even mankind’s greatest defeat of death will be turned to victory since Jesus’ resurrection has swallowed up death’s defeat in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54, Isaiah 25:8-9). Victory means rising to the position God wants to give you, and defeat is a downward crushing of your ambitions. The greatest loss of ambition is death, but, even then, Christ grants those who trust in Him the ability to rise and return to the position of closeness with Him. 

Emphasize God's grace and forgiveness. 

Each day, you can rely on God’s grace in the midst of your weakness. Your defeats become opportunities to look toward His victory and forgiveness. When we look at our own victories, we often become prideful, which becomes a defeat. Your greatest victory is not anything you have done, but What Christ has done for you. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). His victory is greater than the sum of all your defeats. So don’t stand by your own strength, which is weakness; stand by Christ’s strength, which overcomes all weakness. Seek God’s grace for it is stronger than your weakness.

Christianity is not just behavior modification.

Christianity is not a subtraction problem of subtracting all your defeats from your victories and seeing if you come out ahead. If that was the case we would always fall short. Christianity is deciding you are not going to live by our own victories and failures but you want to stand by God’s victories. “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” (Phillippians 3:7). Paul threw away all the gain he had from his victories in order to be measured by the victories of Christ, which are far better. Look to Christ and His victories, not to your victories and failures, and do not let your defeats define you.