Lose to Win

I recently listened to a song by the singer Fantasia Barrino called ‘Lose to Win’.  I have heard this song many times but it was something about listening to it this time that the verses below stood out to me:

 

“Some of you know what it feels like caught up just in his life

Don’t wanna try again, thinking what’s the difference? Why am I not interested?

Cause when you’ve been broken, you feel like no one can fix it.

Sometimes you gotta lose to win again. If it makes you cry, cry, cry

And all you do is fight can’t get no sleep at night? Sometimes you gotta lose to win again.”

 

No one likes to lose whether it is your favorite sports team, a board game amongst family and friends, losing something of value, losing your job or losing a relationship.  I believe loss is one of the hardest things to deal with in life.  I think about Naomi who lost her husband and sons in the Book of Ruth.  Upon Naomi’s return to her hometown in Bethlehem after the loss of her family the Book of Ruth says, “So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi”, she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” (Ruth 1:19-21 NIV) Naomi experienced great loss but by the end of the Book of Ruth, she won.

We all experience different losses in life.  Some losses are bigger than others are but regardless they are still losses.  At the time when you are losing, it feels as though you will never win or overcome the loss.  Trust me I can relate.  I to have experienced a few losses the past few years.  Some small and some big however they were painful to say the least.  I believe that is why the song by Fantasia hit me so hard.  When you are in the midst of losing, the feeling does cause you to lose sleep, cry and you might even fall into a depression.  I agree that sometimes you have to lose to win again.  During your loss a testimony can be building in order for you to help someone else who might not be as strong as you are.

About five months ago, I made the painful decision of giving up my two dogs Bingo & Max.  It was the most difficult decision for me and today I still suffer with the loss of not having them around.  What I struggle with the most is the reason I gave them up.  They were like my children and most of all my heart.  Even after five months, I am unable to look at pictures of them.  There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of them.  Even though I know, someone else is caring for them, the pain of not knowing where they are and knowing I will never see them again is a difficult loss.  For twelve years, those boys never left my side and they taught me a valuable lesson.  The true meaning of unconditional love.  No matter how upset I got at them, they loved me regardless.  During my lowest points, they would come wagging their tails and were happy to see me.  Therefore, in the end regardless of the pain I feel today, though I loss them I win because I experienced unconditional love.

A few years ago, God had me preach a sermon titled “Shattered but not broken!”  I think about the lyrics to Lose to Win and how often we do feel like no one can fix our brokenness.  I think of Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  We live in a world where everything is fast pace.  If we want dinner made fast, we can throw it in the microwave, there is high-speed internet and now we have Ubereats.  We expect God to move at the same pace.  I am guilty of it myself.  The Psalm did not say how fast He would heal the brokenhearted but that He would do it.  Think about patients (us) going through surgery (brokenhearted).  The surgeon (Christ) always lets us know the healing process takes a little time.

As hard as it might be today, let us be grateful for our losses because we know that in the end we are going to win.  We might have been shattered but we are not broken.  We might have been accused but not found guilty.  We might have been overlooked but God has not forgotten us.  We might have been abused but righteousness always prevails.  We might have been lied on but truth always wins.  We might not be appreciated by others but God loves and appreciates us.  We might not be perfect but we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  We might have been bullied but God is our vengeance.  We might be the tail today but tomorrow we will be the head.  We might have to lose to win again.

 

I dedicate this blog to Bingo & Max.  I love you my boys and though I feel lost without you, I know I have won because of your unconditional love.  You will always remain in my heart forever.  I am so grateful to God for creating you both.