I watched the women’s gymnastics last night and saw the incredible smiles on the faces of those five girls who had a spectacular night. But just a few nights prior, I saw the agony of defeat on the face of one of the competitors, Jordyn. The camera zoomed in as she faced huge disappointment and the death of the dream to compete for overall gold. It was heart wrenching to watch. All her work dashed by a few problematic routines.

Her response, “I was pretty disappointed, but I had to put it together mentally, especially for this team.  A team gold medal was also officially a goal of mine, and I had to pull myself together and move on and be stronger mentally for the team.”

And she did.

The lesson–one moment your hopes are dashed, your dreams elusive and the next, gold! It was all about her attitude. Would she allow disappointment to get the best of her or pull herself together for the team?

So many times in life we face this same challenge. We can allow disappointment to drag us down and even paralyze us. We often fail to realize we are in a spiritual fight, one that depends on how we respond to the disappointment. Grieving a loss is normal, but we have to be careful not to get stuck in that grief and allow it to overtake us. When we trust God in the difficulty, victory is often around the corner.

So when you feel defeated, cry out to God. He fights for you and is strong when you feel weak. He defeated darkness on the cross.

Like an Olympian champion, God places you on that platform and declares you gold! Hie strength is perfect when ours is weak. Praise Him for His strength and being on His team. Put your confidence in Him when disappointment hits because you are always a part of  the winning team!