defeat

Defeat?

I suppose that one of the biggest disappointments in my life has been the defeat I have faced at various times. It took me many years to learn some things, but once I learned them, my life began to improve; my “battles” became easier. I have learned that defeat must come before we can enjoy victory; I realized that we must suffer before we can excel; we must hurt, before we become pain free. Without the contrasts the blessing is not appreciated, and not fully realized. Oh, I am not saying I like defeat, or the hard times; I do not necessarily like the aches and pains that life throws my way, but I need them. Without these “rubbings”, I could not “shine”; I would not know the joy of overcoming problems. I would not be able to encourage others in their battles, nor to be an effective soldier in my own. We need the trials; we need the sadness; we need the negative things to accentuate the positive. Without cold, we would not realize what heat is; without evil, good would be nothing. Yes, the times of defeat were a disappointment, but they were also a hidden blessing. I would have preferred to skip the trials and the bad times, and go straight to the good things, but I am afraid that the good would not have been so good had I done that. Without the defeats, I would not have called upon the Lord, and enjoyed the blessings of God. How could we see Him work in us without the trials He overcomes through us? What would the suffering of Job mean without the double restoration of everything in his life?
Some people compare life to an ocean; they seem to think that good times and bad times come in waves, and that they have no real purpose. Many are overwhelmed by the evil things, as a tsunami overwhelms peoples and places. I am glad that life is not always “a bowl of cherries”, sometimes it’s the pits! We need the hardness of the pit to actually know the softness and sweetness of the cherry. Realizing this can help us to thank God for the “pits of life” and totally appreciate the sweetness of the cherry.