U P S E T S
Can you remember a time when you defeated an opponent which was highly favored over you? You might also remember a time when you were picked to win, but somehow the victory slipped away. How does that happen?
The writer of Ecclesiastes saw this in his life and wrote about it in chapter 9 and verse 11. There it reads, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”
We’ve all been a part of competitions when we knew that the better team did not win. We’ve all had days when for some reason, we didn’t have our “A game” and we lost to an inferior opponent.
What should we make of all this? Simply put, you’re never out of a competition, even when terribly overmatched. Conversely, you can never count your opponent out when you seem to be the clearly superior team. Time and chance conspire to keep the lesser team in the contest and to even bring about amazing upsets.
As you prepare for competition, don’t dwell on your being the favorite or the underdog. Rather, focus your mind on bringing your absolute best to this game. Do all you can to take time and chance out of the equation.
Bible Reading Plan:
Luke 6:43-49
Philippians 4:8-13
Psalms 121
II Kings 22-23