Maybe our desire to win is a human thing, but it is certainly an American thing! We love winning. Even when we can’t play, we cheer on teams that do win. There is something about winning that tells us we are on the right track and failure tells us we are on the wrong track. The question to consider is it all about winning, or is it more about fearing failure?

The great philosopher, Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa said, “It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.” Rocky sounds like he is saying, we think of winning in terms of each successful hit, but winning is found in the adversity we overcome and not in avoiding hits.

With the same sentiment, the basketball player Giannis Antetokoumpo, said something profound about winning and losing. It was just after Giannis’ team; the Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated early from the playoffs. A reporter asked, “Do you view this season as a failure?”

Giannis fired back, “You are asking the wrong question… do you get a promotion every year, in your job, no you don’t.” He continued, “So every year you work is steps to a goal… its not a failure, its steps to success.”

Finally, Giannis delivered a line that went viral, “Why do you ask me that question… there is no failure in sports.”

I think we think about not failing. God showed me this morning in His Word in the book of Romans. Paul wrote, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.” (Romans 5:3 NIV)

The things that you thought were colossal failures and those nagging failures, God will develop us through them. To the Romans, they were in the middle of suffering, but this was not an indication of failure, but it was them winning as they had faith in Jesus through it. There is no failure in faith.