God Can Win With Any Hand

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28


As you will see, I have overloaded this post with God's promises. As you read, I believe that you will understand why.

Yesterday I gave you a glimpse of the fears that paralyzed me for a good portion of my life and, I hope, provided some encouragement through what God has done in my life, to demolish those fears. Today, I will take all of that one step further.

As the title mentions, "God can win with any hand." A sweet friend of mine said that to me a few weeks ago and as I have allowed it to sink in, it continues to resonate with me daily as I reflect on my past and where God has brought me today. In my life, God wins. Each time I surrender (or trade in a card), He wins.

I'm not much of a poker player, even in the craze of Texas Hold 'em, but I do know that a poker hand consists of 5 cards. Depending on what cards are dealt we have a choice to keep our hand or trade in one or all cards.

Life with Christ is much like that, except that when we choose to keep the cards we often lose every time and give satan a very dangerous foothold. In my life, I've found that the cards I never wanted to trade in were the ones that caused shame, guilt and fear in my life. (Quite different from poker where we are quick to give up the "bad" cards!)

In order to be real and in an effort to share God's amazing love and power, I'll tip my hand:

1. Childhood Victimization
2. Eating Disorder
3. Abortion
4. Co-Dependency
5. Divorce

These are just a few of the things that created the fear that I shared yesterday. These are the things that held me captive in satan's playground. Satan taunted me; telling me that if others knew about those things that I would be ruined. He called me unworthy. He made me believe that even God couldn't love someone like me and He absolutely couldn't use someone like me. So, I held that hand as close to my chest as possible, refusing to trade out any cards. I believed the lies of satan and allowed those experiences to define who I was. That is, until I handed the first card to God. Wow! There was such a freedom in that! It was as if a major weight had been lifted. You would think that the freedom that came with handing Him the first card would cause me to throw the rest at His feet. Unfortunately, I handed God the one card that I believed to be least offensive. I thought that if I went with the worst, He would give up on me before I even got started and if I piled them on He would quickly tell me that I was a hopeless cause. So I continued to live teetering between freedom and fear.
I honestly don't know the day that I sat at His feet and began, one by one, to hand Him my cards. I just remember that as I shared each burden with him, God showered me with His grace and mercy, not only through His word, but through others who shared my experiences. It was like a healing balm for my scarred and broken heart. After quite some time, I realized one day that my load felt lighter, that He held all of the cards,and I was no longer racked with guilt because those events could not define me anymore. The word was out and satan no longer had his grip on me because God knew (even though He ALWAYS knew) and He still loved me. He still called me His child, He still called me beautiful! Instead, I was defined and am defined by Victory in Christ. He won! He wins! No matter what hand He holds, HE WINS!

I know that my hand may not resemble yours and I do not share my hand to do any more than show what God can do with it. As I've mentioned in many posts, I am nothing and no one without God and His tender mercy and grace. Most importantly, my life is nothing without His unfailing, unending love for me. He nailed every single card to the cross, long before I held it in my hand. He waits ever so patiently for us to hand Him our cards - not to punish us, but to allow Him to play the hand and win.

No matter what your cards read today, won't you go "all in?" It is so scary and it is painful and at times there will be backlash from the world, but I can promise you - based on what I know - that the freedom from holding onto shame, guilt and fear, is worth everything it takes to hand them over to the One who wins every time.


He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." Mark 5:34

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1