Did You Have A Small Victory?

“Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from His heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of His right hand. Psalm 20:6 

  

  Sometimes it feels like we are stuck in a rut of disappointments. We get to the point we are expecting bad news because we have had so much bad news. Yet I don’t think the Lord wants us to stay in a state of gloomy expectations. 

  Awhile back I was struggling through several days of depression and just feeling “off” mentally. I was dreading going to see my diabetes specialist because I was unsure how much, or if my blood sugar had improved. I also suspected I had gained some weight from inactivity during the winter. To my surprise, I had not only lost some weight, my blood test showed overall improvement in my blood sugar levels. 

  Expecting bad news, instead I received good news. 

  We need to celebrate our victories. We certainly bewail our losses and difficulties. Indeed, I think we must celebrate even the small victories as they are very important to those of us who live with affliction, disease, pain and suffering. It is too easy to overlook the many victories God gives us, both small and large, and get caught up only in a mindset of focusing only upon our difficulties. 

  Perhaps you received some unexpected blessing, or maybe a family member was recently blessed. Possibly you got an unexpected visit from an old friend. Maybe the diagnosis from your doctor was not as bad as expected. Celebrate it! We are blessed in many ways, and I think when so many things go wrong in our lives, we can easily overlook or dismiss those things that do go right. 

  Today it may be that the sun is shining after several gloomy, rainy days. Perhaps someone made you your favorite meal or dessert, or took you out to eat at your favorite restaurant, or sewed you a quilt, or called you out of the blue just to let you know they care. Celebrate it! 

  What are some of the blessings that have come your way this month, this week, this day? Who in your family has been blessed of late? What surprising blessing has God brought your way lately? Perhaps it is time to look beyond the very real challenges and difficulties in our lives and start adding up the blessings, large and small. We might be surprised to find those blessing and victories add up to much evidence of God’s goodness in our lives. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive us our complaints, and help us to count up our victories instead. Help me find a victory today and celebrate it. Amen.