Win by losing

Was praying really hard that the Vikings would win today, all I can say now is "my God my God why have you forsaken them.". :p

I prayed that God would guide all of their plays and curse Philadelphia Eagles to throw interceptions and make stupid plays.

I was hoping the forces of heaven would bless the Vikings and the forces of hell would curse the eagles.

The Super Bowl is in my hometown this year, and so it was very important that Vikings would win this game to have a historic Superbowl in their hometown.

God taught me a valuable lesson. The Vikings got their behinds kicked worse this game than any other games all year, and this was the only game that I prayed for them to win this year. My prayers did the opposite it seems. The lesson is bless and do not curse. I should have never cursed the Philadelphia Eagles. The other lesson is that God doesn't care about football.

(I prophesy that the Patriots will win the Superbowl. . ).

Anyway, I asked God why he let me down, and the answer he seemed to give me is that he wins by losing.

Jesus is God incarnate. look at how he chose to conquer. He chose to be defeated, humiliated, rejected, disappointed, tortured, abandoned by the apostles, and murdered. He chose to win by losing.

God also wants me to be happy about the Vikings losing. Just like God wants me to be happy that Christ was crucified. God wants us to be happy about disappointments. He wants us to genuinely feel joy when we are disappointed and be happy about it.

I read a book about a guy that learned that God wanted him to praise him every time something bad happened , and thank him for that bad event, and feel genuine joy about the bad thing happening. I was able to truly feel joy about the Vikings losing. By praising God for the disappointments in life, and thanking God for them, it releases God's power into the situation to bring as much good out of it as possible. That is why I posted this in the praise section.

I was really looking forward to a historical game where the Vikings win the Superbowl in their hometown. Praise God they lost. Thank you Jesus. Allelujah!

It is good for one's Health to accept all things as if they were the best. Being miserable and disappointed over it does absolutely nothing good. Being happy about it is good for the health , and morale is very important for a soldier!

Go Vikings!
 

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Matt
It is fine to root for your team.

And the Lord understands your excitement and strong desires to see them prevail. Know that there are those that have sent their prayers for the 'other' side. The Lord is not making a choice between you and them. Have fun root for your team, but know that it is not a vital issue.

As far as praising Him for the bad occurrences in your life, the idea is that you place the Lords plan before your own concerns.

Early Christians (and many today in some places) considered it a joyful thing when they were arrested not because they looked forward to the trials and punishment handed out by the authorities, but because it was an indication that the word of Christ was being felt. They felt honored because they could use their circumstances as a witness to their faith in Christ, perhaps encouraging their persecutors to turn towards Christ.

Even our Lord felt tired and grieved just before His arrest:

Look in Matthew Chapter 26. One of His disciples was off betraying Him. Three of His disciples including his closest follower could not even stay awake with Him.

Verse 39 reads:
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will".

Verse 42 reads:
He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done."

Jesus certainly did not think it all joy to be betrayed and killed. He was in tremendous grief, but He did not let it turn to despair. He chose to follow the will of His Father despite the wish to avoid the pain.

In a very much smaller way, I have found joy in the problems that have 'afflicted' me. I have seen that it was this way that the Lord prepared me and set me on a new direction at the end of my working career. I now really consider it to be a great blessing, not because I enjoyed the process of removing my affliction, and not because it is convenient to cut my earnings off years before I had planned, but because I truly am better off and much happier than I would have been, and can use my situation for Him before I truley become enfeebled. I did not see it at the time, but I certainly do now.

You find joy not by disregarding the personal pain, but by seeing past it (or looking back and seeing how it helped you). The important thing is serving the Lord and keeping your eyes upon Him and not on your disappointments.
 
It isn't the football game that bothers me. What bothers me is I'm delusional. I really thought God was helping the Vikings and that God wanted them to win. It is hard for me to do God's will if I'm delusional.
 
I could care less about the stupid ball game now, but I can't help but feel this scripture applies to me

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
 
I could care less about the stupid ball game now, but I can't help but feel this scripture applies to me

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Can I ask why you feel this verse applies to you?

To quote one of my favorite movies.."facing the giants" ... God cares about football, because he cares about you. He desires for you to be joyful. But like you said the major lesson is about blessing and not cursing. To know the difference between the two... And to truly love by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 your neighbor (in this case the eagles) as yourself... perferring them above yourself.

Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.
Ephesians 4:29 AMPC
https://bible.com/bible/8/eph.4.29.AMPC

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:44 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.5.44.KJV

God loves you and desires to be apart of every area of your life. He desires for you to be so reliant upon Him... that He is the one Who is Who you turn to to fulfill every desire and need that you have.

Blessings to you
And great praise report and share!

I have to share... the Vikings were my brothers favorite team. I remember all of the things with that emblem on it that he had.. I think his favorite was his jacket. Yellow fake leather arms and the rest was purple with yellow snaps :)

Thank you so much for bringing up a happy memory. :)
 
Can I ask why you feel this verse applies to you?

To quote one of my favorite movies.."facing the giants" ... God cares about football, because he cares about you. He desires for you to be joyful. But like you said the major lesson is about blessing and not cursing. To know the difference between the two... And to truly love by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 your neighbor (in this case the eagles) as yourself... perferring them above yourself.

Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.
Ephesians 4:29 AMPC
https://bible.com/bible/8/eph.4.29.AMPC

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:44 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.5.44.KJV

God loves you and desires to be apart of every area of your life. He desires for you to be so reliant upon Him... that He is the one Who is Who you turn to to fulfill every desire and need that you have.

Blessings to you
I feel that verse applies to me because my sins prevent God from hearing me
 
I beg God for mercy for all my sins

So if you have apologized for your wrongdoings according to 1 John 1:9. Do you believe He has forgiven you and heard you?

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
1 John 1:9 AMPC

You don't have to beg for His mercy... just receive what His death and blood have already bought for you. Receive His cleansing of what you have done wrong. And move forward in His grace (His treating you as if sin never happened)... And walk in His right standing with the Father, that He has given to you every time you ask to be forgiven. It's a free gift, every time :)
 
So if you have apologized for your wrongdoings according to 1 John 1:9. Do you believe He has forgiven you and heard you?

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
1 John 1:9 AMPC

You don't have to beg for His mercy... just receive what His death and blood have already bought for you. Receive His cleansing of what you have done wrong. And move forward in His grace (His treating you as if sin never happened)... And walk in His right standing with the Father, that He has given to you every time you ask to be forgiven. It's a free gift, every time :)
I believe he has forgiven me... But my faith wavers. Sometimes I feel like I'm totally rejected by God. Other people have rejected me, and I wonder sometimes if God feels the same way... Sometimes I'm not sure God hears me or cares
 
I believe he has forgiven me... But my faith wavers. Sometimes I feel like I'm totally rejected by God. Other people have rejected me, and I wonder sometimes if God feels the same way... Sometimes I'm not sure God hears me or cares

Those are lies from the enemy, and believe me I have had my share... lol... the enemy wants you to believe that God does not love you, and/abandoned/rejected you to keep you from trusting in His love. And that is meant to be a huge attack on your faith... it's meant to contaminate your faith, so that you won't believe that God will help you when you ask or that He hears you.

Truth is that the Father loves you just as much as He loves Jesus (John 17:23) and the Bible says that He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Meaning he never rejects us. Even when we need wisdom He doesnt get upset with us or makes fun of us. And that would be another reason why the enemy has tormented you with rejection.. so that when he whispers thoughts in your ear about God treating you like others have... it's easier to believe.
 
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