Why Do You Hide Your Wins?

Speaker A00:00:28

It's Christmas Eve. It's a quiet moment. It's a time to take a breath before a new year begins and a moment to look back before we start looking ahead.And I want to talk about something a lot of us struggle with, especially this time of year, and that's celebrating our own progress.If you've been downplaying your wins, if you feel like you should have done more, if you're wondering whether anything you accomplished was even worth celebrating, I want to speak right into that today, because here's what I've learned and what I've seen in my own life and in the lives of so many others.Progress is still progress, even if the year wasn't perfect, even if it was messy, even if the goal shifted, even if you didn't hit everything you'd hoped for. Faithfulness has never required perfection. And God truly honors your steps, not your scorecard. Oh, we rise. Hello and welcome back, friend.My name is Ralph, and if this is the first time here, I just want to welcome you home. This is the financially confident Christian show where we talk about faith and we talk about finance.We talk about purpose and becoming the person God created you to be. One small, faithful step at a time. And today we celebrate. This is Christmas Eve, and I want us to just slow down a little bit and notice something.Most of us rush right past, and that's what God has already done in your life this year. Because before we make next year's goals, before those resolutions, and I gotta be honest with you, I hate New Year's resolutions.But before some of us make those, before the planning, God invites us to remember something. Someone wrote in and said this. And I picked this for today's show because I said, this is perfect, Ralph. I didn't hit every goal this year.Some things worked, but some didn't. Is it even worth celebrating anything? My heart sort of broke when I got that question. But then I realized that's a truly honest question.It's a question that brought out vulnerability. And if you're listening right now, you felt the same way. I want to encourage you. You're not alone in that.Let's be honest about what truly happens on Christmas Eve. For so many of us, the world gets quiet. And our thoughts, at least they, for me, they get loud.And on Christmas Eve, I don't know about you, but I tend to replay the entire year. I think about the mistakes of this past year. We focus on what we didn't get done. We think about the things we could have done better.And that Little voice says, I should have done more. But friend, I want you to hear this clearly. Your progress is still progress.And the things you dismiss or overlook might be the exact places where God was carrying you. I talked about that on the show a couple weeks ago. Sometimes God carries us. When we're weak, he's strong.Maybe those were the times when he was strengthening us. And maybe, just maybe, it's when he was shaping us the most. Let's talk about why this matters so much. Because this isn't just emotional.There's a real impact behind it. Study after study shows this. Gratitude builds resilience, gratitude reduces financial stress, and gratitude strengthens long term habits.It's just true. Studies have shown this. No, gratitude doesn't change the facts on the ground, but it can sure change the way you see the facts. And here's a truth.I love what you thank God for, you notice more of. And I want to repeat that. I want to park here for just a second because when I read that, I had to put it in today's show.But when you thank God for what you thank God for, you notice more of it. Gratitude helps you recognize God's activity in your life. And I've seen this over and over, not just in other people's lives, but in my own life.I've watched joy return to people the moment they started naming the small things God helped them do. And honestly, I've seen it happen in my own life. Celebrating wins changes your identity in so many ways. It moves us from this feeling of I failed.To God was with me. So let me share a quick story. This is one that always stays with me. A family came into my office this year.They were discouraged, they were tired, and honestly, they felt like they were failing. So I said, I said, wait a second, they want to talk about goals. I said, before we even talk about goals, let's talk about some wins.I knew they needed to feel some wins. And I said, let's just name some wins that you've had this year. And here's what they named. I was amazed. They had paid off one credit card completely.That's a huge win. To pay off a credit card that had been this mountain of debt before them was a huge win. They also share with me.For two months, they've been consistently tithing and giving to their church. That's a huge win. The wife shared with me, Ralph, for the first time, we've created a small emergency fund.That's a massive win during all of these seasons. Paying off debt, tithing, creating that small energy fund. They also were refining their spending habits. They had better spending habits.And in the end, they had more awareness of where their money was going. And I just paused them for a second. I said, hold on a second before you feel so downtrodden, you worry about what's next. Those are huge wins.And I went back and I named them again. And you could see their posture changed. When he first came in, I knew they were feeling some shame.But, man, when I went through these, they started to feel gratitude. They started feeling like they weren't defeated. And they started to feel hope. And I could just hear in their spirit, they moved from.I didn't do enough to look what God helped us do. And that shift right there, that's spiritual. And that shift changes everything. So here's the real question for you today.This is what it all comes down to. So what if you didn't hit everything? What if God is inviting you to celebrate what did happen this year?Because that's the foundation he's planning to build on the next year using that foundation. Let's walk through this together. Here are the Christmas Eve takeaways for today.First thing I want you to understand, and this is brutally honest, but it's something that will help you. Name your milestones. Name that debt you paid down, even if it was small. Name that savings you started, even if it was tiny.Name that consistency in giving. Name those better habits. Name that awareness, name that discipline, name that less impulse spending. Because I want to tell you something right now.You can't be encouraged by progress that you never acknowledge. So start today acknowledging those wins. The second thing I'm going to encourage you to do is connect every win back to God.Because you didn't do it alone. God strengthened you during that time. God guided you. God provided for you in ways that you may not have even noticed.This is a great time to go back and make that gratitude turn into testimony. And that progress that you feel like you weren't having, you can turn that progress into worship. And why is this timely?Right now, we're talking about planning for next year. What if you let gratitude shape next year's goals? When you live in gratitude, it builds your confidence.And when you have confidence, it builds that consistency. You can determine to do it day in and day out. And that consistency, that's what leads to real transformation.So I want to encourage you right now, start next year. From. God has helped me, not from. And I hear this all the time. I didn't do enough.And last but not least, on this Christmas Eve, we're talking about gifts. A lot of us are exchanging gifts tonight or tomorrow. This is a great time to share your wins with someone you love.You need to know that your testimony matters to people. It encourages people. It strengthens your relationships. It reminds you of what God has done in your own life.And Christmas Eve is the perfect time to share your story. Well, now let's center our hearts in scripture because this truth isn't new. It's been with God's people forever.Look at 1st Samuel, chapter 7, verse 12. It says this. Thus far, the Lord has helped us. That needs to be your declaration for today. Thus far, God has helped you. How about we pray together?Lord, open my eyes to see your provision this year. Give me joy in the small victories and build my faith for the next season that you're preparing me for.And I thank you for your son Jesus on this Christmas Eve, Lord. And I asked this in the name of Jesus. Amen. So here's your one action step for today.I know we've got busy lives, but I just want you to write down five ways God has provided for you this year. And then I want you to say them out loud. Pray them back to God. And that gratitude soften your heart and strengthen your spirit.And if you want a place where progress is celebrated, where faith and finances can grow together, and where we encourage each other as we walk into a new year, I want to invite you to join our financially confident Christian family. You can do that by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join again. That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/Join. Friend, just remember this.God has carried you this year. He steadied you. He strengthened you. He's walked beside you every single step.Hey, like we said the other day, many times, I'll speak for me right now. He's carried me. So celebrate those small things because the small things become the seeds of the miracles. God's going to grow next in your life.Let's all go out there today and be financially confident Christians because I know this. You can do this. God is with you. So stay financially savvy. God bless you and Merry Christmas to you and your family.