The Audience of One

There's nothing quite comparable to the experience of a first-place win; those victories are always unforgettable. When I was in the fifth grade, I won a spelling bee. I can still remember every bit of the excitement I felt upon realizing that I would be moving forward as a representative for my school at the county-wide level of competition

I spent the next few weeks deeply involved in studying and strengthening my spelling ability. It was all so exciting!

As the evening of the spelling bee finally arrived, a small amount of nervousness began to creep in, although I was more than prepared for whatever the night may bring.

My ultimate goal was to be crowned the winner. I wanted to be the best and to have the chance to keep on competing.

There were twenty kids in all and after several rounds of increasingly difficult words, I lost on one that I can't even remember now and ended up placing sixth in the competition overall. (Which is pretty darn great when you think about it!)

Even so, the idea of having to accept that I would not be known as the number one greatest speller in the moment that I lost was completely discouraging to me.

As I was walking back towards where my family was sitting, I couldn't help but want to cry. My mother stopped me in my tracks as she lovingly instructed me not to get emotional. In that moment, she looked me in the eye and said, "You did good" 

Those few words were all that mattered to me at the end of it all.

That's something I have never forgotten, and it brings me to an all too important message that I've had on my heart for some time:

There has always been an unrealistically damaging definition of what a winner should look like in this world--- that if you're not the best at almost everything, if you've never won that first place trophy, the smallest accomplishment is no victory at all.

It's easy to become discouraged when you're never the most popular, and you're realizing that you don't have the largest cheering section.

But that's not what true victory is all about, and it's important to remember that. 

A life lived in victory is one that's spent in full surrender to Jesus; time given for the audience of one in place of the world. The only words that will matter at the end of your journey will be: 

"Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Don't allow this world to discourage you from living for God; don't let it steal away your joy in serving Him in the best way you can. 

Whose approval do you seek?

Keep on being faithful for Jesus. 

"But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts." (1 Thessalonians 2:4 KJV)

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matthew 25:21 KJV)