August 27, 2016–Devotions from Rio Olympics
Wrestling

“The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:22-28

When I was in my freshman year of high school, I tried out for the basketball team. Now, my high school, though very small, had a long and decorated basketball program – and a really tough basketball coach. Though I was not very good at basketball, I still tried out for the team. When the inevitable happened, and I did not make the team, I decided to join some friends on the wrestling team. I had never wrestled, had only ever watched professional wrestling on television, and so had no knowledge of what I was getting myself into. During my freshman year, I had one win and many, many loses, but I learned something very important – I learned how to lose.
In many of our recreational sports programs today, we take too much emphasis off winning and losing, in my humble opinion. In the era of “everybody gets a trophy” and “we do not keep score”, we have forgotten that there is a lot to be learned through losing. After all, once we hit the work force, we will not always “win”. We will not be hired after every interview, we will not win every negotiation, and we will not always have the last say in a meeting. In fact, we may lose more often than we will ever win in life. Losing can teach perseverance; losing can teach tenacity; and losing can teach us character. If I had never lost in my life, I would never have learned anything about how good it is to win.

Jacob persevered with his opponent, and in the end he received a blessing, even though he was injured in the process. Winning does not mean that we remain injury-free. But, even if we are nicked once in a while, and even if we lose most of the time, persevering to the end for the Christian means the reward of life eternal with G-d. Nice……

Pastor Dave