Momentum For Monday, September 9th 2024

“A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10)

Well, I lost. I was hoping to have better news for you guys, but unfortunately, I don't. I lost in the first round.

I won't lie, I was bummed for a few hours after the competition. It was mainly due to incurring an injury, but also because I really wanted to perform better. I invested a lot of time, energy, and even money for this, so the loss hit a little deeper.

Without nerding out about jiu-jitsu on you guys and boring you, I'll simply say that I learned so much from this experience. From the weeks before I spent preparing, right up until the match, I gained so much knowledge. And also, it was the first time I had fun competing (which was something I prayed about).

I have failed enough in life to learn how to handle it well. A loss in a competition may cost me my pride, but it doesn't lessen my value as a person or a brown belt in jiu-jitsu. I've faced tougher losses in life to know that.

My approach to other personal losses in life is the same. I may not bounce back after a few hours, but eventually, I will recover. I'll mourn the person or hurt. I'll pray continually over the situation until I can process the situation and let it go. I may even need to muster up the courage to apologize. It may take time, but I do get over it and not in a bitter or resentful way. I'm not perfect with it, but I know I've made drastic improvements in handling loss over the years.

The thing is, abundant life isn't just all rainbows and sunshine. It's the ups and the downs. To live life abundantly you feel joy and pain, but the pain doesn't have to sting so badly if you understand how to process it without losing yourself.

Jesus isn't just bringing life that makes you happy every single day. He's also bringing the ability to endure through the hardships because it's not being endured alone. It is endured with him. This makes handling loss and pain safer and more comforting.

As someone who has been through dark days and faced suicide and depression, I encourage you to know that setbacks are temporary. I may not know your specific pain, but I do get it. If we want abundant life, we need to embrace it all with Jesus, because there is no better way.

“We despised him and rejected him—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we didn’t care. Yet it was our grief he bore, our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, for his own sins!”

(Isaiah 53:3-4)