Moving from Failure to Success – Part One

“This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:46)

Everyone who ever achieved anything significant had to beat the odds. The problem for most of us isn’t the odds; it’s that we sell ourselves short. As R.H. Headlee observed, ‘Most people think too small, aim too low, and quit too soon.’ The odds in favor of David defeating Goliath weren’t good. Unless you factor faith in God into the equation, which David did. Listen to his words: ‘I’ll strike you down and cut off your head’ (v. 46). Clearly, David was aiming high.

And when it comes to the thing God is calling you to do, aim high. The odds matter little. Whether you fall down along the way matters little. You fell when you were learning to walk, didn’t you? Dr. Maxwell Maltz says, ‘You’re a champion in the art of living if you reach only 65 per cent of your goals.’ If the odds indicate you will make a lot of mistakes on your way to success, so be it. As long as you’re eventually successful, isn’t that what matters? Remember, ‘If at first you don’t succeed – you know you’re running about average!’ As long as you keep trusting God and trying, He will come to your aid.

James writes, ‘Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown’ (James 1:12). Paul writes, ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’ (Galatians 6:9). When you believe God wants you to succeed, and you persevere, you move from failure to success.

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Honor God and He Will Honor You

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:25)

There comes a time when we have to face our fears and take a stand for what we know is right. That’s what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did. They risked their lives when they refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. They could have rationalized, ‘I’ll bow on the outside, but not on the inside,’ or ‘I’ll just pretend the idol is Jehovah.’ But they took a stand for what is right, and it set the stage for miracles. ‘Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished…saying to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God”’ (vv. 24-25 NKJV).

When you place yourself in a defenseless position, it sets the stage for God to show up. But if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had bowed to the idol, 1) they would not have received promotions, 2) the Jewish people would not have gained protected status within the Babylonian kingdom, 3) idol worship would have continued in Babylon, and 4) Nebuchadnezzar would not have experienced a life-changing encounter with God. ‘Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God…who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him…there is no other God who can deliver like this.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon’ (vv. 28-30). By honoring God today, you are positioning yourself for Him to bless and honor you.

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Believe God for Greater Things

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Many of us have a God-sized dream within us, but we’re so afraid of failing that we never even try. We can’t imagine how it could possibly happen. So, we don’t act on it. Here is a challenge: don’t worry about the outcome. That isn’t your responsibility. ‘Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ You simply need to act on it. It doesn’t have to be something big; in fact, it will probably be something small. Everything that’s big starts small. But if you do little things like they are big things, God will bless them and use them. A.W. Tozer said, ‘A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils. A high view of God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems.’

Note how Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus: ‘To make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him – endless energy, boundless strength!’ (Ephesians 1:18-19). We can’t imagine what God is capable of. This means we can’t imagine what we’re capable of if we give God control of our lives. His power initiates a chain reaction. And with His energy working within us, we can accomplish all He has called us to do.

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Tell the Truth

“The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.” (Proverbs 12:22)

Are you in a situation where lying seems to be the only viable solution? Unless you want to create a problem between God and yourself – don’t do it! ‘The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.’ When you lie, you hurt God, others, and yourself. ‘Dishonesty destroys treacherous people’ (Proverbs 11:3). Lying always comes with consequences because of the following:

1) God hears you. When you decide to pray, the last thing you will want to discuss with God is the first thing He will want to discuss with you; namely, your dishonesty!

2) It robs you of your confidence before God. The Bible says, ‘If we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him’ (1 John 3:21-22).

3) You risk being exposed. Remember, ‘Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed’ (Proverbs 12:19). When people discover you have lied, they lose respect for you, their trust level plummets, and a reputation that has taken years for you to build suffers a blow you may not recover from.

Paul writes: ‘Since you have heard about Jesus and…learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbours the truth, for we are all parts of the same body’ (Ephesians 4:21-25 NLT).

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Come Out of that Corner

“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.’” (Leviticus 23:22)

Under Old Testament law, God commanded Jewish farmers: ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field…You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger’ (v. 22). Ruth was working in an obscure corner of a field owned by a wealthy man named Boaz, who is a beautiful type of Jesus our Redeemer. When Boaz saw Ruth, he called her out of the corner and into the midst of the harvest field. And he instructed the reapers to drop handfuls of wheat in her path so that she wouldn’t have to work for it (see Ruth 2:16).

There is a lesson here. One moment of God’s favor can change your life. And He can do it through someone He has already prepared, someone you haven’t even met yet. Ruth didn’t know it, but because Boaz was related to her mother-in-law Naomi that positioned him to be her ‘kinsman-redeemer’ (see Ruth 3:1-9 ), who was someone qualified to wipe out her debt, and care for her, and meet her needs.

Jesus said, ‘Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly’ (Matthew 6:4). Be assured, God has not overlooked you. Others may not notice your faithfulness, but He does, and He will reward you for it. ‘God is not unjust to forget your work and labour of love which you have shown towards His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister’ (Hebrews 6:10 NKJV). One of these days, God is going to say to you, ‘Come out of that corner!’

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Going Forward or Going Back

“But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

The book of Ruth illustrates the difference between those who step out in faith and take risks and those who give in to fear, play it safe, and miss God’s best for them. The book begins with these words: ‘There was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife [Naomi] and his two sons’ (v. 1).

Things went well for a while, then tragedy struck. First, Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. They married local girls named Orpah and Ruth, and then the sons died. Overwhelmed with grief, Naomi decides to return home to Bethlehem and advises her two daughters-in-law to stay in Moab and hopefully find husbands and raise families.

This is where the difference shows up in the two girls. Orpah decided to stay in Moab, even though it was a place of heartache and hard times. Why? Because it was the place she knew. It was her comfort zone. She didn’t have the faith to go forward. Ruth was different. She said to Naomi: ‘Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God’ (v. 16).

Orpah went back, Ruth went forward. And it paid off. Back in Bethlehem, she met Boaz, her new husband. Not only was he wealthy, but he took good care of her, and they had a son from whom descended both King David and our Jesus. God rewards faith, not fear. So the word for today is – it’s time to break with the past and move forward.

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Live In the ‘Here and Now’

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

God wants us to appreciate the season we are in; to live in the ‘here and now’. Some people live only for the future. ‘I’ll be happy when…’ Other people live in the past. Solomon addresses them: ‘Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this’ (Ecclesiastes 7:10).

The New Yorker magazine once had a cartoon in which two monks in robes and shaved heads were sitting side by side, cross-legged on the floor. The younger one, with a quizzical look on his face, is facing the older one, who is saying: ‘Nothing happens next. This is it.’ That’s exactly what it means to live in the here and now. We aren’t waiting for something else to occur, we aren’t distracted by anything around us, we aren’t trying to escape mentally to another time. We are fully alive because we are living in the moment! God may have done great things for you in the past, and you’re trusting Him to do great things in the future, but His presence, His power, His goodness, His favor, His blessing, and all that He is, can only be experienced in the here and now.

Question: ‘Are you living in a shell to keep from being eaten alive by the pain of life? Do you guard yourself by retreating deeper into your shell, being available only to what is pleasant, predictable, and safe?’ ‘This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ Live in the ‘here and now’.

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To Be Conformed Is to Be Creative

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29)

Since God is both our Creator and our Redeemer, we are called to be ‘conformed to His image’ in both senses. So, to become more like the Creator is to become more creative. When we apply our sanctified imagination to serve His objectives, we are doing what God does best and loves most. And our heavenly Father takes deep pride and joy in it. Just as we celebrate creativity in our kids, so God celebrates creativity in us.

Have you ever noticed how often Psalms tells us to sing a new song? The creative command is repeated no fewer than half a dozen times. The more you discover about God, the more you love Him. And the more you love Him, the more you need new ways of expressing your love.

Most of us don’t classify ourselves as creative, but that’s because we narrowly define creativity. We think of it like we do a work of art, a new invention, or an entrepreneurial conception. But that’s a meagre slice. Creativity isn’t merely for artists, inventors, or entrepreneurs; it’s vital in all aspects of life. In the fullest sense, creativity is any use of the imagination. Yes, in the past we may have used our imagination for the wrong purposes. But at the new birth, your imagination is redeemed so that it can be used to glorify God. If God is infinitely creative and we are not just created in His image but called to be conformed to His image, then creativity isn’t optional. It’s a dimension of spiritual maturity.

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Be Patient, God Is At Work

“Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.” (Psalm 37:34)

When things don’t happen as quickly as we want them to, we can become anxious, frustrated, irritable, and negative. And if you’re a ‘make it happen’ person, you can rush ahead of God and get into trouble. ‘The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take’ (Psalm 37:23). Think about it: if you’re following the Lord, you can’t go faster than the One who is leading. So, just take the next step and trust Him to work things out for you.

God knows what you don’t know. At best, you are working with limited knowledge. Do you believe your steps are being ‘directed by the Lord’? Do you believe He has a plan for your life? Do you believe He cares for you and has your best interests at heart? If you do, then stand on this Scripture: ‘Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep travelling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honour you with every blessing’ (Psalm 37:34).

God knows what He is doing. He works according to His schedule, not ours. When will God ‘honor you with every blessing’? Answer: ‘in due season’. Impatience is a sign of two things:

1) Immaturity. Babies cry until you pick them up, and children don’t want to wait for anything. But a wise parent knows that often the child is not ready to handle what they’re demanding.

2) Doubt and unbelief. ‘You need to keep on patiently doing God’s will if you want him to do for you all that he has promised’ (Hebrews 10:36).

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Do Not Be So Controlling!

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10)

Do you get upset when you cannot control others? Or moody and irritated when people don’t do what you want? Do you react when your mistakes are pointed out? Or try to force people to comply with your demands? Do you exaggerate your pain, sickness, or need in order to gain attention or sympathy? Or criticize the opinions and choices of others, and position yourself as superior? Do you become angry and abusive when someone disagrees with you or challenges your authority?

Are you reluctant to compliment others, but quick to try and fix something you think is wrong in them? Do you find it hard to say, ‘I need you’? Do you try to drive a wedge between your loved ones and anyone else who gets close to them? Do you ‘give orders’ to those you interact with, rather than using the simple courtesies of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’?

If your answer to these questions is yes, then the word for today is – don’t be so controlling! The Bible says, ‘Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another’ (v. 10). That means stopping to consider how your behavior affects other people. You say, ‘But I just happen to have a strong personality.’ Sorry, that does not let you off the hook! ‘A servant of the Lord must…be gentle to all’ (2 Timothy 2:24). So if you are a controller, start changing your ways!

And if you’re being controlled because you fear anger and rejection, it’s time to draw a line in the sand. Seek help from a trusted friend, church leader, or healthcare professional, especially if you feel at risk. Ask God to help you stand firm and refuse to be controlled any longer.

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