Most of us have played sports such as basketball, soccer, or football. But did you ever play with the goal of losing the game? Of course not. We play to win. God made us that way — not just to win playing games, but to win in life.
But if you are going to be a winner in life, here’s something you need to understand:
Winning in life does not depend on your circumstances; it depends on your attitude.
David came from poor circumstances and a very undistinguished background. Yet he became king of Israel. His circumstances did not determine his future — his attitude and faith did.
In Joshua 14 we can see the attitude of a winner in the life of Caleb
Caleb was one of twelve men Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land in Numbers 13-14. Ten of the spies brought back a negative report that discouraged the people from taking the land. Only Caleb and Joshua believed God’s promise and encouraged the people to go in and conquer the land.
Because of his faith and the “different spirit” he had in him (Numbers 14:24), God gave Caleb an inheritance in the Promised Land. But Caleb still had to fight for it. After 45 years, at the age of 85, he finally received the inheritance God had promised him.
Caleb’s story gives us a powerful example of the attitude of a winner in someone who wholly follows the Lord.
That attitude can be summarized in five key words.
1. Committed
Joshua 14:8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
Caleb was able to bring a positive report about the Promised Land, even after seeing that it was filled with people of giant stature whose fighting ability seemed far superior to that of the Israelites, only because he “wholly followed the Lord.” In other words, Caleb was totally committed to God and His promises.
One thing you can be sure of: in your life you will face adversity, obstacles, and challenges that you must overcome in order to be successful. Commitment gives you the ability to stay on course even when circumstances are against you.
When the challenges of life hit you — sickness, job loss, broken relationships, even betrayal by someone you thought you could trust — it is your commitment to God that will allow you to keep moving forward. That’s why to be winners in life we, like Caleb, must decide now, once and for all, to wholly follow the Lord.
2. Courageous
Joshua 1:7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
The 12 men Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land were all highly respected leaders in their own right. And 10 out of 12 of them agreed on a very common sense negative evaluation of the Israelites chances of success in taking the land. Yet Caleb, along with Joshua, was willing to stand, and stand firm, against that majority report.
A winner must be courageous — willing to do what God wants no matter the opposition.
The majority may say that what you believe God wants of you cannot be done. People may criticize or oppose you. Fear may try to stop you. But courage keeps you moving forward in the face of adversity.
3. Positive
Joshua 14:10-11 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.
At 85 years of age, after waiting 45 years for God’s promise to him to be fulfilled, Caleb still had a positive confession: he said he was just as strong then as when he was 40, just as willing and just as able to fight for his inheritance.
A positive attitude gives you strength to overcome the obstacles and do what needs to be done. As Nehemiah 8:10 puts it, the joy of the Lord will be your strength.
Think about it — when you are facing a challenge, who do you want beside you?
- The negative complainer?
- Or the positive encourager?
If he’d had a negative attitude, Caleb would have been just a broken down 85 year old. But Caleb did not complain about the 45 years he had to spend wandering in the wilderness because of other people’s lack of faith. He focused on what God had done and what God would still do.
That’s what winners do. They focus on:
- The present and the future, not the past
- Their assets, not their deficiencies
- God’s promises, not their challenges
Psalm 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.
Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
To be a winner in life, keep yourself encouraged in the Lord, and keep pressing forward toward the goals God has given you.
4. Eager
Joshua 14:12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day…
At 85 years old, Caleb was not looking to take it easy. He wanted his inheritance! He wanted the mountain that God had promised him, even though he knew there were still giants and fortified cities there. And he was eager to go and fight for it.
That’s the attitude of a winner — eager for the challenge, confident in God’s promise that if they remain strong, courageous, and obedient, they can expect to “prosper wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7).
David ran toward Goliath, not away from him. Winners look at the promised result and get excited about what God is going to do. They don’t shrink back from challenges; like David, they move toward them with enthusiasm and faith.
5. Determined
Joshua 14:11-12 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.”
Caleb had waited 45 years for God’s promise to be fulfilled. And when that time finally came, he knew he would still have to fight giants before he could receive it. But he was determined!
Winners are determined people. They don’t quit when the promise takes time. They don’t quit when the fight is hard. They stay the course when others give up. Because they know God is faithful, they remain confident in Him even when they cannot see the end.
Winners keep doing what God called them to do until they possess inheritance He promised them.
The Attitude of Faith
Caleb was not a winner because he was the most intelligent, the most talented, or the best connected. He was a winner because of his attitude of unshakeable faith in God.
If we want to be winners in every area of life — spiritually, with our families, our careers, and in anything else God calls us to — we need to have the same attitude Caleb had.
We must be committed, courageous, positive, eager, and determined to follow the Lord wherever He leads us.
And if we do, we too can be a Caleb — one who against even seemingly insurmountable odds, stands in faith until we receive all that God has promised us.
