Snatching Defeat From Victory (1 Peter 4:12-14)

Some people I meet have an extremely negative view of life.   When everything is seemingly going well, they find a way to throw a monkey wrench into the situation and make it a downer, for themselves and everyone around them. It is an outlook that views the world through smoke-filled, rather than rose-colored glasses.  It is more than pessimism, perhaps even more than fatalism or defeatism.

In essence, they are snatching defeat from victory.

By expecting the worse in every situation, these individuals can make sure their lowered expectation are always met, allowing them to move forward in life.

How very different was the attitude of the Apostle Peter! He was beaten for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ, but note his reaction.

And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
Acts 5:40-41

And why could he rejoice when seemingly the worst outcome had just occurred? Many years later, Peter wrote the following in one of his epistles...

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
1 Peter 4:12-14

A person with a very negative view of life would easily have been discouraged by the trials that Peter and the rest of the Apostles faced. But Peter chose to focus upon the Glory of God rather than the despair of man!

If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you already have the victory. Any seeming defeat is a way that God will reveal His glory to you.

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.