Winning
My husband got a great board game for Christmas this past year called Pandemic Legacy. It’s designed so that you play the game once a month (twice if you lose) for an entire year. Once a month we have an opportunity to save the world from a Pandemic, you either all win or you all lose! As you play, you uncover different rules or scenarios that affect the game. The box comes with stickers and new pieces that we add to the board so that it plays differently every time we play. We are committed to saving the world, one game at a time. You’re welcome.
A couple of the times we’ve played we hit a point where we felt panic surging quickly to the surface. We noticed the card stack dwindling and once the cards are gone the game is done. We begin to talk a little faster, and ideas jump back and forth as we figure every possible way to finagle the rules toward a win. We fear the title “Loser.”
Sometimes life feels like you’re losing.
You’re not winning and losing feels inevitable. You try to creatively manage all the pieces of your life. Take a little from here, pad a little there. Move a position here, stay determined there. Give up something you’ve been saving for “just in case,” and hope the cards fall in a pleasant manner. The voice in your head lies to you and says you are in a no-win scenario. You wonder why you can’t discover the perfect answer and you want to demand who changed the rules.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we know we are to bring our needs to God. We’re familiar with verses like James 5:13, “Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray…”; Psalm 17:6, “I call on you, God, because you will answer me…”; and Luke 18:1, “…pray always and [don’t] give up.” Are you like me and think “I am praying – a lot!” and you’re still not “winning?”
Perhaps we have the wrong concept of winning.
We tend to see prayer as a very distinct behavior, fundamental to our spiritual growth. It evokes images of kneeling, a bowed head, closed eyes, and folded hands. The Bible states several times we are to pray continually. It’s hard to blend the picture of a humbled kneeling saint praying unceasingly with our busy, overscheduled lives. We wonder how we are to practically live life on our knees.
In both Romans 12 and 1 Thessalonians 5, the directive to pray continually is tucked in the in the middle of a “Christian checklist of behaviors.” The word used in 1 Thessalonians (adialeiptos) means “uninterruptedly, without omission –without ceasing.” Romans 12 uses a different word (proskartereo) that means “to be earnest towards, to persevere, be constantly diligent…” Paul is teaching that while we are comforting the discouraged, helping the weak, acting patiently toward everyone, rejoicing, giving thanks, detesting evil, loving others, honoring one another, serving diligently and enduring affliction we are to be intentionally engaged in an ongoing conversation with God.
Imagine your closest friend and how you interact. The conversation is non-stop. If there is silence, it’s comfortable and comforting. When you see something intriguing, you bring it into the conversation. When she has a fresh idea or opinion, she suggests her thoughts. You both agree and disagree as you discuss. You give and take, learn and adapt. You feel valued and heard, and you cherish what she brings to your life. All the while you are shopping or hiking or baking or entertaining your children or a myriad of other activities. It’s the wonder of relationship.
God is longing for the wonder of relationship with us.
Perhaps the “winning” we are hoping to discover isn’t finding the ultimate answer to what will fix our circumstance. Winning is not feeling successful or good or happy or having everything look Instagram perfect. Winning is connecting with God and building a deeper relationship.
We won our game and saved the world. That’s not what made the evening successful. It was the laughter and friendship that eased away the stress of the week. It was fresh insight that was discovered as we chatted. It was the feeling of belonging. God offers all of that to us. He’s asking us to enter into a continuous, ongoing relationship with Him. Winning is experienced as we enjoy the God who loves us.
