I am a huge Olympics fan. I could sit glued to the TV all day and all night at the moment. I just LOVE it. Sports I have never cared about or understood have suddenly taken on huge importance. I listen avidly as the commentators share their wisdom and then shout encouragement at the screen when I see an athlete I have heard of performing well.

But what kind of spiritual athlete am I?
How do I take the knocks and set-backs of life?

Am I good at fighting back, or do I retreat into the shadows when things don’t go my way? How about you? What kind of winner and loser are you?

I have been so impressed with the attitude of Team GB. Even when they have not won the medal they have dreamt about and trained so hard for, they are magnanimous in defeat and determined to train harder for Rio. What an inspiration!

Last night, Michael Phelps became the most prolific Olympian in history and yet he seemed a little disappointed that he had not snatched more golds! The reason was he knows what he is capable of. He knows what he has been working towards!

One of my favourite verses in the Bible is in Ephesians 6:7. It says: ‘Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.’ If we live with that mindset, it transforms how we perform the lowliest of tasks.
When I was a struggling mother with three small babies under the age of two, a friend said to me,

“Remember, you are changing nappies of future leaders.”

It totally impacted me. I held my head higher.

Do you know who that friend was?

It was the Holy Spirit! He shared with me that what I was doing was vitally important to HIS scheme for my children’s lives. I started to enjoy (yes enjoy!) those precious times with my boys – approximately 15 times a day.

People of impact live with that mindset: ” What I do matters. Who I am matters. How I do things MATTERS.”

So here’s my question for you: ‘Is your heart in what you’re doing today? Are you aware of how much it matters in terms of the kingdom? If you are a mum looking after children over the summer, are you giving it your best? Are you training your kids in righteousness? Yes you are! Every time you help them to sort out a fight, or teach them to share, or let them know how beautiful they are… you are teaching them God’s values and principles! If you are a person going into the office, are you trying your hardest? Do you use every opportunity to bless and encourage others? If you work alone, are you committed to praying over your work and your office space each day that you would serve God well?

Paul Hogan, the Ozzie who played the character Crocodile Dundee, was once asked how he became successful, he answered, ‘The secret of my success is that I bit off more than I could chew, and chewed as fast as I could.’

My friends, there is nothing in life, in my experience anyway, that comes easily. Behind every dream there are tears. Behind every vision is hard work, effort and inevitable disappointments along the way.

But every vision comes with the correct amount of heavenly resources. We can tap into all we need and be given it by the ultimate coach and helper – the Holy Spirit.

Let me pray for you as you live through this day.

Father, I thank You that You have given us all we need in Christ to succeed at what You have called us to do. Thank you for the privilege of serving and loving You. Please show us today how we can accomplish what You have asked of us with the mindset of winners and overcomers. Teach us to gather ourselves quickly after hurts and disappointments and move forward. Help us to learn from our mistakes and seek Your wisdom for next time.
Help us to be as good at losing as we are at winning so that we learn well from both seasons in life.

Amen