I am a person that, if watching a sporting event, really gets into each play and hoping that the outcome is going to benefit the team I am cheering for. I am also someone that will speak to a large group or teach a class but never have the ease of not worrying about what I am saying or what I did say when I am finished. This becomes my anxious moments and, like most people, it affects my demeanor and my attitude.
According to Webster’s dictionary anxiety is defined as an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it.
I am like so many people in the world and that is because I have a very competitive nature. As I have gotten older I have learned that losing is okay as long as I take the loss and get it behind me. It bothers me when I see a very competitive match in basketball, football, baseball, soccer, tennis, or even kids softball and the umpires or referees determine the outcome of the game instead of letting the players win or lose.
Many of us look at life this way also. We are quick to blame someone else on the failure of our team or person to win. People can and will affect the outcome of games but more importantly they will affect your life also if you allow it to happen. Most of us that have this type anxiety allow our attitudes to be affected and this is spread to anyone and everyone around us.
As I have grown into the senior adult status I am not near as bad as I used to be. Yes, I still have these anxious moments of losing but I have learned to let it go and accept the outcome as it happened. In any sport there is going to be a winner and a loser unless it is a tie then many look at a tie as the same as losing. The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:5, “Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.”
Losing a game is okay and I accept that as long as the rules are obeyed. There is nothing wrong with getting beat by a better team. Many, such as I, don’t like to lose and become anxious about it. We start looking for reasons that we lost and most of the time it comes down to the officials allowing something to happen that shouldn’t have, that is according to the losers.
It is this way in life. Don’t let someone drag you down from your victor’s seat in Christ because they are stuck in the perils of the world. When we accept Christ as our personal Savior we have won the victory of eternal life and this is the only thing we can carry with us when we leave this world. There will be many controlled by Satan that will tell you otherwise and this is not the case.
Worldly trophies and awards are status symbols on earth and this is where they will stay. Being anxious over these type victories mean nothing except for the moment. It took me a while to learn this because I like to win. I have been a Christian for many, many years and my victory is through Christ Jesus and no one will ever take that away.
GARY ANDREWS' devotional appears each week on the Church Pages of your Clarksdale Press Register. You can contact him at GARY@gadevotionals.com
