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.

OBEDIENCE AND TRUST PARTNERS IN BLESSINGS

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”—Deuteronomy 30:19

 

Obedience is fundamentally rooted in trust, and shows our worship and appreciation to Christ.  We identify with Christ as our Lord not just in words, but also in deeds that demonstrate our words through practice and action, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).

 

In Deuteronomy chapter 30, we can see a clear comparison of the blessings of obedience, and the curse of disobedience.  Our human sinful nature leads us to do our own thing, and the society that we live in thrives upon it.  However, God is calling us to love, trust and obey Him.  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

 

When we practice obedience, it means we are not ashamed of the Gospel, as Paul proclaimed in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believers, for the Jew first and also for the Greek,” so that our devotion becomes contagious to those around us.

 

Obedience is not something we dread, or feel we have to do, nor is it bondage in a negative sense. It is the joy of knowing our Lord, trusting and staying with Him so we can partake in His love and grow in Him further, deeper, and stronger. The result is that we become more mature and become willing to express His love with eagerness to others.

 

Prayer—Father I repent of the times I have not trusted You and have chosen to be disobedient to Your will for my life.  I ask you to forgive and cleanse me from all unrighteousness according to your Word.  Lord I ask You to help me fully trust You and be obedient to You.  I choose to worship you in every area of my life, in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

 

WHEN YOU ARE SIDE-SWIPED BY LIFE’S CIRCUMSTANCES, TURN TO GOD

“I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.”—Psalm 3:4

 

Less than an hour after my husband had left for work, I received a profound telephone call.  My husband’s small Toyota pick-up truck had been broad-sided by a train.  My heart seemed to turn over on the inside of me.  As my mind tried to comprehend what I had been told, I hardly recognized that it was my husband who was talking to me.  He was asking me to come and pick him up, but my mind and my mouth kept asking if he was physically alright.  It was a few minutes before my mind could comprehend that indeed he was alright and that I needed to get into the car and go get him.  During the forty minute drive, I began praising the Lord for preserving his life, and restoring all that the enemy meant for our harm.  When I reached my husband and saw what was left of his small pick-up truck, I was speechless.  By looking at the vehicle, it seemed impossible that anyone could walk away from that devastation.  However, God preserved his life.  When questioning my husband about what had happened, He said that he did not see or hear the train as he began to cross the tracks.  When he felt the impact and the train began pushing he truck down the track, he began to say, “I will not be afraid of sudden terror.”  Proverbs 3:25-26 says, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.” 

 

At the very moment that my husband was side-swiped by life’s circumstances, he cried out to God for help.  The Lord heard his cry for help and delivered him from all his troubles.

 

In the Bible, crying out refers to speaking audibly with great emotion concerning an urgent need.  God invites us to use this form of prayer to communicate that we desperately need his mercy.

 

It takes both faith and humility to share our heart’s concern aloud.  Crying out is a way for God’s children to express trust in the Lord’s ability and willingness to help.  By calling upon Him, with such urgency, we also lay down our pride and any attitude of self-sufficiency.

 

The Word of God assures us that our Father hears our cries and responds.  When we call aloud for help in Jesus’ name, we invite His power into the situation.  Remember that there is just strength in speaking His name.  We can always count on His comfort and presence, which enable us to live with hope and peace.

 

Prayer—Father I thank You that You are an ever present Help in time of trouble, and that I can cry out to You and You will hear my cry and deliver me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.