When we feel failure come against us, our first reaction may be to run or give up. When it comes to sin, we are all capable of avoiding it. Even in complete love, faith, and devotion to God, we can fall (Romans 3:23), but God is not shocked by this which is why He sent His Son to die for our sins. We get back up again, and we start over. But we should know that we cannot do it alone. We must keep our eyes on our Savior, following and obeying Him and laying aside the sin that inevitably leads to spiritual failure, as Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” God has marked out a course for each of us, and sometimes that course includes failure. But when we cling to the Savior, even our failures can be turned into successes by the One who controls all things and who strengthens us in our weakness (Philippians 4:11-13). Our ultimate victory in Jesus is assured, but complete victory will only come when we are out of this world of temptation (freed from the presence of sin) and safe in the arms of the Lord in heaven.
In his book entitled, ‘Failing Forward’ John Maxwell said, “People are too quick to isolate events in their life and label them as failure. People need to see their failures in the context of the bigger picture.”
He then listed 7 things failure is not:
- Failure is not avoidable – humans are bound to fail sooner or later.
- Failure is not an event, but a process. Success is not a destination – it is the journey you take and what you do day to day – success is a process, and so is failure.
- Failure is not objective. You are the only person who can label your actions a failure.
- Failure is not the enemy – it takes adversity to achieve success. It is fertilizer.
- Failure is not irreversible.
- Failure is not a stigma – they are not permanent markers. Make each failure a step to success
- Failure is not final – failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success and if we learn to embrace that new definition of failure, then we can move ahead. It’s the price you pay for success.
Life is full of trouble, even for those who belong to God through faith in Christ. We are to expect it (John 16:33). This means God does not promise life to be without problems, sorrow, and, yes, failure, just because we believe in Him. However, according to Romans 8:28, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
Let’s be clear my brothers and sisters, in Romans 6:1-14, Paul spoke about the dangers of exploiting grace and he said, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” He gave a short, explosive answer: “Certainly not!” (vv.1-2) and used an analogy that starkly contrasts death and life. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (v.2). No Christian resurrected to new life should be pining for sin.
So today, I want to you to remember that we are all a work in progress, failure is not final, and because of Jesus Christ, grace means all of our failures now serve a purpose instead of serving shame! Amen and Amen!
Ben Franklin said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
4GIVEN 