FACING FAILURE

“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.”—Micah 7:8

Most successful business people that I have met have had one thing in common.  They have had to face failure.  When I asked them if they had ever experienced failure, each one without fail told me, “NO!”  They all said that they did not fail—they just learned how to do something a better way.  In other words, they never deemed failure as a final.  I think that this is a key to our understanding of getting up and trying again.

Elijah felt like he had abandoned the job that God gave him to do as a prophet to Israel.   He had been very “jealous” for the Lord God.  He had killed all the prophets of Baal and now Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife was out to kill him.  He became frightened and ran away into the wilderness and wanted to die.  When Jezebel threatened Elijah he ran, revealing his false faith that she could affect his life more than the Lord God (1 Kings 19).  However God had a different plan for his life, instead of rejecting Elijah, God sent an angel to feed and strengthen him.  Not only was Elijah’s physical strength revived, but so, was his faith.  he learned that he could trust god’s hold on him more than his hold on god. 

God’s faithfulness does not depend on ours.  His performance is not predicated on ours.  His love is not contingent on our own.  In fact, the disciples had to learn this lesson.  Jesus told them that all of them would fail.  “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee” (Matthew 26:31-32).  When Jesus said, “All of you will stumble,” He was telling them they would fall away, turn away run away.  All they had promised Him would mean nothing.  What Jesus’ promise, however, stays firm.  ‘But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee” (v. 32).  He literally said, your fall will be great, but my grace will be greater.  Stumble, I will catch you.  Scatter, I will gather you. Turn from me, I will turn toward you.  You will find me waiting for you. 

Peter still did not understand what Jesus meant.  “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble” (v. 33).  Peter’s trust was in his own strength.  Yet Peter’s strength was not strong enough.  Jesus knew it and said, “Simon, Simon!  Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” Luke 23:31-32).

Satan would attack and test Peter.  But Satan would never win Peter.  Why?  Because of how strong Peter was?  No, because Jesus was.  “I have prayed for you.”  Jesus’ prayers limit Satan. 

Jesus prays for you as well: “Holy Father, keep them and care for them—all those you have given me—so that they will be united just as we are.  “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony” (John 17:11, 20 NLT). 

You can face tomorrow.  You can begin again.  The heavenly Father is not asking you to wait until you become great.  He is GREAT.  He is waiting for you to rise again. 

Mother Teresa aid, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

Prayer—Heavenly Father today I release my inabilities to you.  Lord I have stumbled and I ask You to forgive me and gather me to Yourself.  Today I am resolved to trust Your hold on me more than I trust my hold on You.  I give myself anew to You today asking You to take my life and use it for Your glory, in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

THE LORD IS OUR MAKER

"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker."—Psalms 95:6. 

 

 As a Christian, if the only scripture that you knew was Psalms 95:6, it would be enough.  This scripture contains the all the elements that we need as a child of God to live a redeemed lifestyle.  Here we see an invitation to come, the reason of worship, our posture of faith and humility and our victory.

 

1. “O come”—The Lord always invites us to come.  He is always open to receive us--just as we are.

2.  “Let us worship”— in worship we give up ourselves to Him.  He is the object of our affection.  In worship we lose sight of ourselves and only see Him.

3.  “Bow down” –in this posture it is not about us it is about our reverence for Him. In this position, we acknowledge Him as Lord of Lord, and King of Kings.

4.  “Kneel before”—an attitude of humility and faith.  When we kneel it is an attitude of surrender, we are saying “Lord not my will but your will be done.”  It is of faith because we do not bow down to Satan our enemy.  We are people of faith and have overcome because we acknowledge that the blood of Jesus has won us the victory.  The enemy is defeated and victory for the believer is assured.

5.  “Lord our maker”—acknowledging that God has made everything our days, our times, us, people we will encounter today, situations, He has made it all.  He is in charge.  Not me, not other people, not the enemy, BUT GOD.  HE IS OUR MAKER.  THEREFORE WE BODLY AND CONFIDENTLY SAY, LORD YOU ARE MY MAKER, YOU MAKE MY DAY!!  YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE.  I WORSHIP YOU AND YOU ALONE HAVE MY ALLEGIANCE. 

 

Prayer—Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that You are my maker and today I come to You and surrender my time, my thoughts, my will—everything Lord.  I only worship You not things, not my spouse, not my children, not my family not other people, not my own ideas—just You Lord.  I acknowledge that You are my Lord and my King, my Maker and I kneel before You in humility and faith giving You all the glory for victory in my life, in my family, in the situations that I encounter today, in Jesus’ name.  Amen. 

 

FAITH BUILDING IS ESSENTIAL IN THE BELIEVER’S LIFE

 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.”—Habakkuk 2:4

 

Jesus spent time developing His disciples’ faith because He knew it would be essential for the tasks ahead of them.  For over three years, they attended a school of faith with Jesus as their instructor and the Bible as Jesus knew it consisted of some twelve to twenty scrolls of different sizes. On those scrolls were written 39 books which were divided into three major groups - Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim.  Most often Christ used parables in His verbal instruction, but many of the lessons were taught through demonstrations.  He healed the sick, cast out demons, fed thousands, and calmed the sea.  Their training even included tests that revealed if they truly believed Jesus was the Messiah.

 

At times the disciples’ understanding was slow or faltering, but Christ never gave up on them.  He reproved them whey exhibited a lack of trust, “But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’” (Mark 4:40).  He also commended signs of progress, “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’   Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:15-17).   His objective was to firmly establish their faith so He could accomplish His work in and through them.  After His ascension, He commanded His men to spread the gospel of salvation to the remotest parts of the earth.  Without faith, they would have failed.

 

The Lord has the same goal for us—to increase our faith so we can do the work He has planned for us.  If our faith is great, He will entrust us with challenges and achieve amazing things through us.  But small faith limits God’s activity in a believer’s life.  He uses us only to the degree that we trust Him.

 

Faith building is essential in a believer’s life, and God has two primary means of doing this.  Scripture tells us what to believe about Him, and tests place us in difficult situations that stretch us to believe and rely on God instead of our own understanding.  Each time we believe Him, our faith grows.

 

Prayer—Father I thank You that in each circumstance that I can trust You knowing that the outcome is sure because my faith is in You not in the circumstance—good or bad.  Today I purpose in my heart not to limit Your activity in my life, but I will fully trust and confidently rely upon You, in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

 

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF ENTRY TO SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”—Ephesians 1:3

 

Do you think of yourself as rich?  No matter how much money you have, if you are a believer in Jesus, you are extremely wealthy because God has lavished the riches of His grace upon you.  At the moment of salvation, He deposited into your account “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).  Why, then, do so many believers live in spiritual poverty?

 

1.      Ignorance.   Some Christians do not know about this unlimited spiritual “bank account,” and, therefore, they never draw upon it.

2.      Confusion.  Too many believers just do not know how to access the treasures of God’s grace.  As a result, they worry and complain about their needs and problems or in desperation come to the Lord begging and pleading for help, never realizing His abundant supply has already, been deposited into their account.

3.      Competing Interests.  Distraction by things of the world may be the most common reason.  Christians in this category focus on possessions, pressing responsibilities, and advancement but lack interest in God’s spiritual blessings.

 

The riches of God’s grace supersede any earthly wealth.  They give the peace and contentment that money can never buy, and their benefits reach all the way into eternity.

 

The only way to access God’s spiritual riches is by faith.  We do not have to beg or persuade the Lord to give what He has already made available to us.  Instead, we simply choose to believe that we are who He says we are and can do what He has called us to accomplish.

 

Prayer—Father I thank You that Christ has made me abundantly wealthy in spiritual blessings.  Holy Spirit I ask You to help me access all that Christ possessed for me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.