Today's Reading: Psalms 10, 60, 75, & 76

Dealing With Defeat

It can be hard to come back from defeat. Being defeated can have a domino effect in our minds. As we become overly-focused on our failure, our hearts and minds can go from simply “licking our wounds” to deeper discouragement and, if left unchecked, can spiral into full blown depression and, in some cases, feeling abandoned by God. Experiencing defeat is never easy. It can make us feel like we don’t even want to try again.

Here in Psalm 60, King David and his troops had undergone a series of defeats at the hands of enemy armies. David was feeling dejected and abandoned by God. He begins to wonder if God is angry with him and has rejected him. As he goes through a list of how he feels about experiencing defeat, you can sense that coming back from this could be difficult for him. Some of his feelings include: You have rejected us; You have broken our defenses; You have been angry; You have made your people see hard things. David’s complaints express his feelings of anxiety and dejection. He is having a very hard time with defeat.

But David doesn’t stop there. Thankfully, as he expresses his sorrow at being defeated, he simultaneously reminds himself that God is not finished with him and Israel, and he will once again experience victory. Interspersed with his complaints, we find prayers of faith: Oh, restore us; May your beloved ones be delivered; Give salvation by your right hand; Oh, grant us help against the foe. David wisely took his defeat to God and left it at His feet. In spite of his feelings of defeat and discouragement, he knew in his heart-of-hearts that the Lord would never abandon him. You can sense his heart and mind coming around from a place of dark discouragement back to optimism and faith in God.

David concludes this Psalm with these faith-filled words, “With God we shall do valiantly, it is He who will tread down our foes.” He wisely turned his eyes off of his defeat, stopped licking his wounds, and once again began to trust fully in God and His promises. This provides for us an example to follow when we experience defeat in our lives. We must not let our minds travel to dark places and discouragement. We, like David, must turn our eyes off of our hard defeat and back onto our Mighty God.

Are you having a hard time after experiencing defeat in your Christian walk? Do like David and turn your eyes off of the failure – stop trying to analyze it. Remember that God is not finished with you and He will bring victory. Stay the course! Try again, dear follower of Christ. Try again! Trust in Him to tread down your foes.