Finish Like a Tiger

Philippians 3:10-14
10 I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

A new baseball season is upon us, and it?s likely that by now we have an idea of who the top teams and the struggling teams are for 2004.

But let?s think back to last year when everyone knew who the saddest team in baseball was?the Detroit Tigers.

If you remember the end of the 2003 regular season, though, you might recall seeing some photos of players in Tigers uniforms smiling and laughing. And you may have wondered, ?What are these guys so happy about??

After all, they had just completed a season in which they lost 119 games. It takes the Yankees almost two seasons to lose that many.

Yet the Tigers were smiling?smiling because they won five of their last six games, smiling because they didn?t set a new major league record of 120 losses, and maybe even smiling because it was all over for 2003.

Mostly, though, they were smiling because they had finished strong. Their happiness in spite of a horrendous season shows that no matter how poorly we start out, there is value in coming to the finish line with all the strength we can muster.

That?s even more true in life than it is in baseball.

Let?s say you have more losses in life than the Detroit Tigers. You keep trying to defeat a problem, but it keeps shutting you down. You struggle with anger and you can?t seem to keep it under control. Or you keep losing to an addiction. You should never let a past losing streak stop you from going for the big win. If you persevere, with God?s help and the Holy Spirit?s continual guidance you can find yourself celebrating a strong finish.

No matter how bad things have been, if we keep our eyes on Jesus and keep our hearts under the Spirit?s control, we can finish like a Tiger. ?Dave Branon

bottom line: Losses can lead to future victory in Jesus.

soul journey