The Long Game

Philippians 3:^13-14 “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

The fifth mental habit to demolish the fifth weapon of self-destruction hopelessness is Refocus On The Long Term, And Not the Short Term. Romans 8:^17-18 “Since we are his children, we WILL possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share his glory. I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” (GNT, emphasis added). There is a blessing God is keeping for His people so, focus on that blessing. However, if that was all, that would have been fantastic. But it does not stop there.

The Bible says, not only will we possess the blessing God has kept for us, but we will also possess the things that God has kept for Jesus. How awesome is that? Pause and let it sink in. When the Bible says, “…if we share Christ’s suffering…”, we very often think that it is talking about missionaries or Martyrs. We think that it is only people who go into the interior parts of the earth that are suffering for Christ. But guess what? Everyone that is born of God shares in Christ’s suffering. How? You have the nature of God in you and that nature is in conflict with the sinful nature. That conflict is suffering; therefore, you are a part of Christ’s suffering (Romans 7). If you can relate to Romans 7, you qualify for the blessings of God. But if you have ever said, ‘What kind of life is this?’ And you know that except God comes through for you… then you qualify.

The beauty is we are to keep our focus on the long picture, not just on the big picture. Keep your focus on the long term and not the short term. Famous research was done by Harvard University, and they said, the more long-term your thinking is, the more successful you are going to be in life. I was shocked. But if you check, everybody that is actually really successful thinks long-term. Even when they engage in battle, they play the long game. They do not just fight to win small, small points (chicken points). They play the long game.

While waiting on God at the beginning of 2020, God said to me, ‘Do not think about the year. Think about the decade. This is your decade of destiny’. So, I stopped thinking of the year. Even though He gave us a Word for the year, I was thinking about the decade. When we roll into 2030, how old will I be? What would I have achieved for God? I was thinking long-term. And guess what? In 2020, everything scattered on the international, national, and personal levels. But God said, ‘Do not worry, think long term. You are going to win at the end of the day.’

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to remain focused on the long term, in Jesus Name. Amen!