Purpose in Defeat

As Christian athletes we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that God is always on our team’s side. We think, Why would God not want us to have victory on the playing field? Are we not more righteous than our opponents? (For some reason I always saw the other team as the bad guys). Even more, Why would He not want us to experience victory?

Habakkuk cried out to God for answers to questions like these. He could not understand why God would allow such evil and horrible injustice to take place in his land. God gave him an answer he couldn’t believe. God told him the Chaldeans were going to invade his land. God had purposed that the Chaldeans—a nation more evil than his own—were going to be His instrument of justice among the people of Judah.

As followers of Christ, we must remember that His ways are higher than ours. Sometimes God will use defeat—even defeat handed to us by people who want nothing to do with God—to complete His purpose. This is what He did when He allowed evil men to crucify Jesus Christ, and this is what happened to the tribe of Judah in Habakkuk’s day. God can use evil and pain to accomplish His best interests in our lives.