Failing To Success

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23-24

The literal definition of the word "failure" is: a lack of success in or at something. In reality though, you cannot achieve success in anything without failures along the way. No one is born with the ability to do anything successfully on the first attempt. Babies fall when learning to walk; pianists hit sour notes when trying to master a composition; athletes come in second and third while building up what it takes to place first. But there is a common thread among them all: they never let fear of failure stop them from striving for success.

A lot of us have a fear of failure; but if we desire to be used by God to further His kingdom and bring glory to His name, we must ask Him to help us overcome this. Imagine the amazing things we could do in God's name if we never let fear hold us back! We might stumble along the way; but in the end, God's name would be glorified, and we would set an example for those around us that it's okay to try big things for God, even if we fail along the way to success.

Success comes in cans; failure comes in can'ts. Unknown

The Unexplainable

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8

There are some things in life that just do not make sense, such as the placebo effect, a round earth with a flat horizon, and the Bermuda Triangle. Though scientists constantly search to understand these mysteries, for the majority of us, they are so far beyond our comprehension that we just accept them as a part of the universe we will never understand.

In the same way, there are things about God that even the greatest minds will never be able to comprehend. For those that need to have the answer for everything in life, this is difficult and can be an obstacle to fully accepting God's love and authority. For others, it is comforting to know that while we may not fully understand everything, the One who holds everything in His hands does.

We cannot allow doubt to creep into our thoughts when we don't understand something; this is exactly what the enemy wants. Instead, we must ask God to help us accept that some things are perhaps hidden from our understanding for a purpose, and we must trust Him regardless.

God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events and reserved for Himself the knowledge of them, that He may train us up in a dependence upon Himself and a continued readiness for every event.
Matthew Henry

Quit Trying To Please Everybody

"It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you" (Proverbs 29:25 GN).

When we worry about what other people think, we let them control us. We waste a lot of time and energy trying to figure out what other people want us to be. Then, we waste a lot of time and energy trying to become like that rather than just being what God made us to be. You're manipulated and controlled by somebody else.

Worrying about what other people think is dangerous because we're more likely to cave in to criticism. It means we don't always do the right thing; instead, we do the thing that everybody wants us to do.

And we're in danger of missing God's best because we're so worried about what other people what us to do that we can't stop to think about what God wants us to do.

• Fact #1: You cannot please everybody. Even God can't please everybody. One person prays for it to rain; another prays for it to be sunny. In the Super Bowl, both teams are praying that they will win. Who is God going to answer? God can't please everybody. Only a fool would try to do what even God can't do. You can't please everybody.

• Fact #2: It's not necessary to please everybody. There is a myth that says you must be loved and approved by everybody in order to be happy. That's just not true. You don't have to please everybody in order to be happy in life.

• Fact #3: Rejection will not ruin your life. It hurts, sure. It's not fun. It's uncomfortable. But rejection will not ruin your life unless you let it.

Quit trying to please everybody! Remember that nobody can make you feel inferior unless you give them permission.

The Apostle Paul says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 TEV) This means we can think like this: 'God likes me, and I like me; if you don't like me, then you've got a problem. If God likes me, who cares that everybody doesn't approve of everything I do.'

Remember, nothing you ever do will make God love you less. Nothing you ever do will make God love you more. He loves you completely right now.

--Rick Warren - PurposeDriven.com

Deal-Making

Deal-Making (In A Sense)

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25

The Latin phrase quid pro quo doesn't have a very positive reputation in modern America. Literally, it means "something for something" and is most often heard in the realms of law and politics: "I'll do this for you if you'll do that for me." It smacks of compromise and deal-making.

There is a quid pro quo of sorts in the Bible. Jesus stated that the condition for having God forgive us of our sins is that we forgive others of their sins (Matthew 6:14-15). But isn't the forgiveness of sin a gift of grace based on Jesus' death on the cross? Definitely. Jesus was talking about fellowship with God, not eternal salvation. If we want to maintain our intimacy with God (if we want him to forgive our sins), we have to maintain intimacy with others (we must forgive those who have wronged us). This is what Jesus taught the disciples (us) to pray: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).

If there is someone who has wronged you and you're having a hard time forgiving them, think of what happens when you do: God forgives you. That's a good deal to make.

Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.
C.S. Lewis