Read: Hebrews 4:14-16
“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” - Jude 1:24-25
I despise getting falsely accused. I do so many things wrong already, that I do not want to add fiction to the facts! I used to have such low self-worth that my head almost touched the ground when I walked! Then, I learned that with Christ in me, all of His worth is now mine. That person's opinion is just that...his/her opinion, and not fact at all. Talk about a shot of adrenalin! This thought makes my heart sing and my feet tap out a dance of joy.
Even with His worth as my own, however, I still suffered with shame when I actually did something wrong. It wasn’t very long before God taught me another lesson. Failing in one area of our life opens us up to the possibility of success in another. We may lose a battle in the process of our day, but Jesus already won the war 2000 years ago on Calvary’s cross.
Therefore, we no longer need to feel shame over, nor obsess about our shortcomings. Rather than experiencing defeat from our failings, we can look for God’s direction in other areas of our life. As we bask in the Sonshine of His love, His peace and joy fill our soul and our spirit to the point of saturation. Then, we seek His will and walk in His wisdom as His Spirit leads us moment-by-moment throughout the day. This way we experience complete intimacy with God and ultimately more success in our endeavors.
For example, maybe baking is not your specialty; and every time you try, you fail. This does not have to be a defeat in your life. Maybe God is trying to steer you in another direction or show you another calling for your life. Instead of baking, He may want you to read, or write, or work in some particular field of employment where He can use you to further His Kingdom. In another example, if you are not a good student, you are not dumb or stupid! God just wants to use you in more practical ministries.
If you get into some type of trouble because of some ill conceived action on your part, you are not a failure. You just lost a skirmish. Hide under the shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8) and allow your Heavenly Father to restore you to a place of confidence in His ability within you. Then, folllow the leading of His Spirit into the next moment of your life.
Thomas Edison is known to have said, “I have failed my way to success.” He tried thousands of different fibers for the element in his light bulb. He imported plants from all over the world in his endeavor to find just the right substance. Finally, as we all know, he succeeded. What if he gave up after a hundred tries? What if he quit after five hundred failed attempts? The world would be a darker place today!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we often discover what we can do, by finding out what we cannot do. Help us to listen to Your Spirit each moment of the day, so that our successes far outweigh our failings.
Thought for the Day:
We learn wisdom as much from our failings as we do from our successes.
