The Gambler came up on my ipod the other day, and made me ponder, once again, at the profound wisdom in that old country song.
“Now every gambler knows that the secret to survivin
Is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep
Cause every hand’s a winner and every hand’s a loser
And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep.
...
And somewhere in the darkness, the gambler he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.
You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away, know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table
They’ll be time enough for counting, when the dealin’s done.”
There have been some things in the last few months that made me feel like I’ve been dealt a bum hand: I want to be married, but I’m not. I want(ed) to be in France but I’m not. I wish my friends could stay here but they’re not. I like the apartment I was in but can’t stay there. Lots of “I want’s but not.”
Before I got here, God pointed out a verse that said, “Because you didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though you had an abundance of everything...” (all the curses would come for their disobedience). I decided to serve the Lord my God with joy and a cheerful heart, no matter what, because I really do have an abundance of everything.
Every hand’s a winner. No matter what I’m dealt, I can play it to win, because in Christ, I have an abundance of everything I need to be able to win. More than conquerors, right?
I’ve already said that even though it’s time for my friends to walk away from this particular game table, it’s not time for me to walk away yet. And I’m not one to fold. I remembered truth this week and called out the Enemy on his bluff that he’d been feeding me about my hand being a loser hand. This hand I’ve been dealt is a winner, and I’m happy with it cause it’s full of aces. I’ve put my game face on and I’m ready to play! And I’m in it to win it.
Watch out Arabic language, cause I'm about to tackle you with all I've got!
2 comments:
Awesome, awesome post. Gave me goosebumps. Love your attitude! We're headed to the farm tomorrow...wish us luck!
Man, I need to read this more often. I love how there are songs that teach you lessons that the artists themselves may not have even thought of. "The Gambler" is certainly one of those songs. For me, "Que Sera Sera" also really brings me into focus when looking into the future or even the present. Not necessarily the Doris Day version but rather the Sly & the Family Stone cover. It is so funky and soulful. What a different perspective we have on things like that than people who aren't like us.
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