Defeat

I really hate to admit defeat. There are times that I’ve tried so hard for a victory or an accomplishment and miss the mark and I feel a sense of defeat or failure. This does not need to define me, but I think it needs to prepare me for a journey adjustment.

The people of God were camped near Mount Sinai and Moses had gone with Joshua up to the mountain to meet with God. The Lord had given Moses the two tablets with the 10 Commandments inscribed by His own hand. He told Moses that things were not going well inside the camp, so Moses and Joshua headed back down the mountain. As they arrived, it sounded a bit wild and crazy. Check this out..

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, ‘There is the sound of war in the camp.’

18 Moses replied:

‘It is not the sound of victory,

              it is not the sound of defeat;

            it is the sound of singing that I hear.’ (Exodus 32:17-18 NIV)

I know what the sound of defeat is like. I have missed the mark many times in my walk with the Lord. It doesn’t matter that I’ve not made a calf. I just know that I’ve failed my Father who wired me and built me to serve and honor Him. I know what the victory sounds like because I’ve experienced that as well. I believe that victory is found when my heart (the very center of who I am) is devoted to the Lord and His will for me. I also believe that defeat sets in when I try to hijack my heart away from Him and do things my own way. My flesh is weak but His Spirit in me is strong. He won’t force me to follow Him. I always have the choice to choose victory. Defeat is my flesh screaming at me and me following that cry, versus the whisper of my heart.

I have heard the music of victory and I’ve heard the music of defeat. They sound way different from one another. I’ve cried the blues in the shadow of my sin. I also know the music of victory because I’ve been set free from the bondage of defeat. The Lord is my Rescuer from sin and defeat. He is the One Who gives me the victory over sin and self destruction. I want Him to help me overcome the grip that sin has on me. His Grace found me and sin no longer defeats me.

Pressing On!

Dwayne