You Can Win and Still Lose | Judges 8 | Crossroads Daily

I think Gideon, it's not just not finishing well, he finishes poorly. Yeah. But I also think lumped in that is finishing meh. Like I think so often things just fall off. And so for, I think finishing well is really like, okay, you were talking about faithfulness. You stayed faithful. You didn't burn bridges. You delivered. I think it's like you have the ability to go back. This is the Crossroads Daily. No experts. No perfect people. Just honest conversations about what happens when the Bible shows up in real life. Hey, I'm Chuck. I'm Jamie. I'm Kirsten. I'm Miko. And so we come to the end of the story of Gideon. Well, you know, at least the end in the Bible, the story of Gideon. I thought you were going to sing for us there like, Alleluia, to the end of the road to Gideon. Sorry, I have to, oh my back then. Oh man, I mean, I'm the oldest person here. And so I'll just be honest and tell you, when I see examples of leaders in the Bible who don't finish well, it is like humbling, heartbreaking, cautionary, whatever you want to think about that a lot now. Because, you know, I mean, I'm not retiring tomorrow, but I want to finish well.

And there are so few examples of that. And so sadly, Gideon is also not an example of finishing well. So why do you think, and first of all, when we talk about finishing well, I mean, let's do this. How do you define finishing well? Let's start with that. And then I want to ask you why you think it's so difficult, but how do you even define finishing? What does that mean to you all when you hear that praise? I think of two things. One, I don't think that's exclusive to Christianity or ministry or whatever. But in, you know, our faith walk, to me, finishing well, it's, I guess, you know, like it says in the New Testament, Job well done, my good and faithful servant, right? To be able to be affirmed in that as you, you know, exit a season or exit life. Yeah, that's good. I like that. I like that definition. Or transition into whatever that is. So, yeah. I'm sorry. I'm thinking like, don't be a ding dong. I know it's way harder said than done, but I like read these and I'm like, what a ding dong. Like, what are you doing? Maybe I just need to have people around me that's like, are younger than me, that are reminding me of what that looks like to finish well. Because I don't know what happens when you get old. I mean, I'm so young, you know, how could I possibly? Why did you look at me when you said that?

How could I possibly know? Why did you look at me? It was a very targeted response. I don't know. It's just, that's what came to mind. It was not an answer, but it was just what I was thinking. Can I offer kind of the middle ground? I think Gideon, it's not just not finishing well, he finishes poorly. Yeah. But I also think lumped in that is finishing meh. Like, I think so often things just fall off. And so I think finishing well is really like, okay, you were talking about faithfulness. You stayed faithful. You didn't burn bridges. You delivered. You, I think it's like, you have the ability to go back. Like Gideon doesn't, I mean, he died. So he doesn't have the ability to go back. But even still, he like, I think like even kind of towards the end of the verses in that section, it was just like, and then Israel just kind of had this weird period. Which is kind of the like, okay, God's like, let the ground stay fallow. And then I'm gonna do something again with the next person kind of a thing. And I think that that is one of my genuine fears. That I don't know how to finish well. Because there's always like something else to jump to. And I'm like, I can look back and be like, why didn't burn any bridges? And I didn't this, but I'm like, oh, but I didn't. Did I finish that?

Or did I just let it get too good enough to then go to the next thing? That's good. And I love that you're even naming. We're gonna have multiple finishes. So it isn't just about the final finish, right? But like we can learn from other chapters that have ended, other seasons. How did I finish that one? And we can learn for going forward. That's really good. I hadn't thought about like, yeah, there are multiple finishes that teach us something about finishing well. Why do you think it's so hard to finish well? Well, Jamie, you spark something in my brain where I can't imagine how tempting it is to have such a victory. And like close knit connection with the Lord, like be his chosen for this war and saving your people. To just then be like, what now? You see it a lot in celebrities. It's like, OK, they have their peak. Right. And then temptation like swirls around them and then they struggle with like addictions. Striving after something that they'll never get back like there will never be a moment like that again, right? It's hard to leave the limelight, right? Yes, and just a temptation that comes with that. Yeah is like Clearly he fell into it because he's like well there has to be something again Like I'm like striving after that feeling that glory that God even warned him in of before It's just like so human. Yeah Yeah, and it's a weird coin because right before he falls off they're like be our King No, right only God can rule over and then yeah, and I think like versus later

It's like but hey if you want to give me some of your spoils, I'll melt it down and make a thing Yeah, it's like it just becomes the thing of I think it's both like the temptation of like what's built around you Or what God's glory has given you access to yeah. Yes. I think it's also the like There's probably like a fear and like another negative emotion. I can't come up with like that's like it will never Be as good as that Like I have peaked. Yeah, and now I'm on I'll look at Chuck, you know Cuz you said the thing about the age like yeah like did I peek and then there now there's nothing else or nothing else God has for me and like I'm now a We're you know, we're in the back half or though like whatever that right expression is of like now I can only focus on maybe Either living in the limelight or like the glory days of what I had I can invest in others like I think and honestly if we go back to like how to finish Well, I think that's where the turn comes I think that's key if Gideon had a young leader a young warrior that was with him that he was investing in His perspective could have been different, but he was so That's good, yeah There's a guy that I respect wrote a book about Leading people and one of the quotes he says in the book is you've got to come to a point as a leader Where you believe that your fruit grows on other people's trees? And I would say one of the blessings that I have in my life is I have people around me who I see finishing Well, yeah Mentors and other people and the thing that I would say is true about all of them is exactly what you said At some point you have to realize the platform whatever the platform is whatever your limelight is that it's not for you anymore Right and that really what you're to do is to take the experience of the platform and platform other people yeah, and the thing that I see and want to be able to do as I get closer to that and I'm even in that to some Degree now is like there's a planned hiddenness That I think is a part of spiritual maturity. Yeah, I think there's a there's a planned hiddenness where you recognize There are opportunities you could say yes to there are still people who are gonna reach out and say hey, can you do this? Yeah, but it's not yours to do right and if you have someone coming up behind you You've got to be willing to say I could say yes to this. Yeah. Yeah

But I want my fruit to grow in other people's trees and if that's gonna happen I've got a start the Bible has this principle gleaning and I've heard it used this way We're like, you know, you don't you don't farm to the edge of your farm in the Bible But you leave it for people who don't have and I think the same is true with opportunity Yeah, I think it's true with influence. I think it's true with power. Yeah that there needs to be a planned hiddenness and Yeah, Gideon, that's where Gideon fell. Mm-hmm where he fell was his inability to not be the center Yeah, and I think G it's why Jesus is such the powerful example because even if you think about Jesus's Last week, how did Jesus finish? Yeah, he finished in smaller and smaller Community, yeah, right, you know, yeah, he was the beginning of the week He's knocking things off the temple and he's preaching and teaching but at the end of the week He's around the table with his disciples and he says I have eagerly waited to have this meal with you This is my body broken for you. This is the blood that I've shed for you. He got smaller He goes to he goes to get simony and he gets smaller, you know He goes to the cross and he gets smaller and in Philippians It tells us because he was willing to get smaller. He ultimately does get glorified I think there's something about the way of Jesus and finishing. Well, yeah, that is beautiful and really really hard It's beautiful. I think it's what you're pointing at It's just a great example of not chasing after your own glory Right like being obedient to the overall mission and remaining obedient to the overall mission and then let the chips fall where they may something that Jamie has said really sparked a thought and When you mentioned about um, the the things that God's glory gives you access to I can recall some years ago and I felt like God was talking to me just about things to come and one of the things that he said to me was don't Fall in love with the blessing And what he meant by that is like don't let the thing that I have for you Like don't let that become an idol. Yeah, and me in my own flesh. I'm like how good is this blessing gonna be when you tell me not to fall in love with you, like this is gonna be a goop but I think that it's that temptation there man that's just it's just very real and you see how it plays out in so many different people's lives and I think it's like being mindful of that along the way and staying rooted in the mission you know what I mean like through and through man

that's so good don't build a golden ephod yeah man don't fall to the golden ephod trap right give me a couple earrings right I want to land where you uh I think that was so powerful Jamie I bet you that there is a finish you're approaching I don't know if that's finishing school or finishing a role at a job or finishing your summer whatever it may be um think about how you finish this thing whatever that immediate thing is and how it can teach you and even form you to be someone who builds a practice of finishing well