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FAILURE IS NEVER FINAL
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power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast
all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's
power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV).
December 1--or any other day of the year--may have been the
final day of your divorce, the day you were rejected, the
day you lost your job, or the day you lost a loved one; but
remember, as difficult as it was, December 2 was the first
day of the rest of your life. It was a day of new
beginnings. So, if you haven't done your grieving, be sure
to do it now. Face, accept, and resolve your pain; get up
even if you have to drag yourself up, and go on. To do this
effectively, there are several valuable qualities you need
to have
Develop the right attitude. Attitude is what makes the
difference between a painful experience becoming a failure
or a success. You can let the loss leave you timid and
afraid to step out again for fear of being hurt, or you can
determine that your failure will be your teacher. As
William James said, "The greatest discovery of my
generation is that a human being can alter his life by
altering his attitude."
Use your failures/losses to enrich your life. True, we all
need mountaintop experiences from time to time to encourage
us, but we don't grow through these. It is in the valley of
disappointment and through our failures/losses that we are
given the opportunity to take stock of our life and move
toward a new dimension of life and toward a greater level
of growth and maturity.
Know what your purpose in life is. The more clearly defined
that purpose is—and the more deeply it is embedded in your
conscious and unconscious mind—the less likely will
disappointments and failures set you back.
A spacecraft en route to the moon is off course 90 percent
of the time. It is constantly pulled back by the earth's
gravity, and is continually drawn to one side or the other
by other forces. But it has a built-in computer that has a
singleness of purpose that homes in on the moon. The
computer is making continual corrections to keep the
spacecraft on target with its purpose and goal.
Life's like that. If your eye is on your goal, if you have
a singleness of purpose, nothing will stop you getting to
where you plan and choose to go.
Remember that failure or disappointment is an event, not a
person. Because you may have failed in your marriage or
job, in another relationship, or other situation, doesn't
mean that you are a failure as a person. Not at all.
Realize that the only real failure is not to try, or not to
keep on trying, or not to get up one more time than you
fall or get knocked down. The important thing is to learn
from your past, invest it as an opportunity to grow, and to
move ahead.
Give God a chance. If you feel as if you have failed or
believe you've done wrong, ask Him to forgive you--and be
sure to forgive yourself. Then turn your failure into a
stepping-stone toward a better you.
Where a bone is broken and heals, it becomes the strongest
part of the bone. The same is true of your broken
places--where you have been hurt, have fallen and failed,
or are afraid. When you bring these to God for his healing,
his strength is made perfect through your weakness.1
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, no matter what happens to me,
whether it is my fault or that of another, please help me
not to become bitter but better by using it as an
opportunity to help me to grow and become the person you
envision for me to be. Thank you for hearing and answering
my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Adapted from How to Mend a Broken Heart, by Dick Innes.
Available at ACTS' online store at www.actscom.com/store.
<:))))><<
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