What if I told you that every challenge you’re facing right now isn’t actually working against you, but for you? What if those roadblocks you’re hitting are actually your secret weapons for achieving breakthrough success?
Most people show up to life expecting to lose. They’re constantly proving that something bad is going to happen. You know these people – they’re the ones saying “I knew this would happen,” “I knew they would quit,” or “I knew I’d mess this up.” But what if there’s a completely different way to approach every obstacle that comes your way?
Why Most People Play to Lose (And How You Can Change That)
Here’s something I discovered when we ran our reality show “Play to Win” – most people aren’t actually playing to win. They’re playing to prove they’re going to lose. They show up with the mindset that defeat is inevitable, and guess what? They usually get exactly what they expect.
But there’s a powerful verse in Second Corinthians 2:14 that changes everything: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”
Notice that word “always.” Not sometimes. Not when you’ve been a perfect Christian. Always.
Graham Cook, author of “The Art of Thinking Brilliantly,” puts it this way: every issue you’re facing has already been assigned an outcome that God wants to generate. Your starting place in any circumstance isn’t the problem – it’s the promised outcome.
The Abraham and David Principle: Operating From Promise, Not Circumstance
Think about David facing Goliath. David had been promised by God that he would be king. So when he stepped onto that battlefield, he literally knew he couldn’t die by Goliath’s hand. Why? Because he wasn’t king yet. The promise hadn’t been fulfilled.
Abraham had the same revelation when he raised the knife over Isaac. He had been promised that Isaac would grow into a nation. The book of Hebrews reveals Abraham’s actual thoughts – he believed God would resurrect Isaac if necessary because the promise was bigger than the circumstance.
This is where most of us get banged up. We don’t know the promise. The enemy wants you focused on the foreclosure, the termination, the health challenge, the business failure. But when you operate from the promise instead of the circumstance, those obstacles no longer mess you up.
Your Two-Step Formula for an Amazing Life
Want to know the secret to living an extraordinary life? It’s simpler than you think:
Step 1: Yield to God. This life isn’t your own. You were bought with a price. Stop trying to control everything and surrender to His plan.
Step 2: Serve others. Take your focus off what’s wrong with you, what you don’t have, or what you’re afraid of, and start serving people.
That’s it. Yield to God, serve others, and watch your life transform.
Turning Your Biggest Setbacks Into Your Greatest Comebacks
I can look back at my own foreclosure – one of the most devastating experiences of my life at the time – and honestly say it was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. I was arrogant, selfish, and all about myself. That experience humbled me and redirected my entire path.
God will allow in His wisdom what He could have easily prevented in His power. He could prevent all your problems, but in His wisdom, He allows things that serve your ultimate purpose.
When you start seeing your trials as opportunities for breakthrough, everything changes. Instead of asking “Why is this happening to me?” you start asking “What are you going to do with this, Lord? How are we going to grow through this?”
The Victory That’s Already Been Assigned to You
First Corinthians 15:57 reminds us: “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” There’s a breakthrough that’s been assigned to you. There’s an outcome that’s already determined. There’s a victory waiting for you.
Your job isn’t to figure out how to avoid the challenge. Your job is to worship until you get revelation of what the victory looks like, and then move from that starting point.
You cannot abide in Christ and have Him abide in you without being favored. All of heaven’s favor is attracted to the Jesus Christ inside of you. It’s against the law of life in Christ Jesus to remain defeated when you’re walking in relationship with Him.
The Starting Place That Changes Everything
The situation you’re in right now is designed to draw you into a space with God where you win something. Every challenge is an invitation to go deeper, to trust bigger, to see His power work in ways you’ve never experienced before.
Stop focusing on what’s wrong and start focusing on what’s being made right. Stop rehearsing the problem and start declaring the promise. Stop playing to lose and start playing to win.
Your problems aren’t roadblocks. They’re your secret weapons for victory.
