Pastor Elwin Ahu
September 21, 2003 - W0338

Ever had a great expectation? Maybe it was for a relationship or your finances.  You had visions of something great happening. Yet after following instructions and trying hard, you still came up short. Perhaps it was because of a poor decision along the way or a mistake. You had good intentions, but your hopes came crashing down. 

QUESTION:  What is your definition of failure?  How has failure held you hostage to the past and made you afraid of the future?

ìIndeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.î  (Ecc. 7:20)

Well folks, everybody fails. In fact the Bible is full of people who failed. Look at Adam and Eve. They failed to obey the Lord.  So did Moses, King David, and one of Jesusí closest disciples, Peter. 

Now Jesus saw something in Peter that He even changed his name from Simon to Peter (meaning ìsolid rock.î)  Nevertheless, Peter failed the Lord because of the choices he made. Remember when Peter said to Jesus, ìI will never deny you.î He set himself up for one of the biggest failures of his life. While Peter loudly proclaimed his loyal commitment to Jesus, he denied the Lord three times. Look what happened next: ìThe Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, ëBefore the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly.î (Luke 22:62)

I try to put myself in that situation. Just seeing the Lord face-to-face knowing he just denied him three times. What kind of despair and frustration did he feel? What kind of hopelessness did he feel? Yet something happened to him. From that broken soul, he became one of our greatest leaders in the New Testament Church. He left an imprint on the early church that was stronger than any of the other disciples who followed the Lord.

ìAnd after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.î (1Pet.5:10)

We cannot live our lives avoiding failure because itís inevitable. There are victories and defeats. Yet how can we learn to respond to failures without bailing out on life?  Well here areÖ

THREE RESPONSES:

1.  FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE.

ìSimon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.î  (Luke 22:31-32)

Satan had to ask Godís permission to shake Peterís faith. God knew that Peter would fail and God also knew that He was still in control. Indeed, God used satanís actions to strengthen Peterís faith and his ability to lead others. Thatís how much confidence God has in the overall scheme of things. Therefore, the same is true for us. God is not worried if we fail. Thatís because if we remain faithful to Him, He will use our greatest failures to achieve His greatest victories. So shouldnít we have the same kind of confidence?

Too often we see failure as an isolated event rather than looking at the bigger picture. We begin to judge and label those incidents as failures. Take for instance sports. A football player doesnít quit the first time heís tackled. A baseball player doesnít swing once, miss, and give up. The reality is that the greatest baseball players had as many misses as they did hits. And it is their perseverance through failure that gives them opportunities for success. Such is true for us. Just because we have a failure doesnít mean that we are doomed.

There was a time in my life that I had been knocked down. I was a judge, going through my second divorce, and was forced to move back with my parents. I hit rock bottom. What I learned was that sometimes we need to be knocked down before our eyes open. During that time, I realized God had a greater plan for me. Of course, I didnít understand this at the time. However, it was during that period that my father and I developed a close relationship with each other. 

We are afraid of hitting rock bottom. We believe that failing moves us farther away from the Lord. Yet sometimes itís when we hit bottom that we are actually closer to God. Why? Itís because the Lord is our rock. Sure, we donít know what His plan is for our lives. And we may never understand it, but we must believe that He has a greater plan for us if we just stay faithful to Him. So donít look down. Look up and see the bigger picture.

ìSo be truly glad!...These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure; Ö so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of His return.î (1Pet. 1:6-7 LB)

QUESTION:  Do your thoughts and actions align with Godís plans for you?

When you fail, refocus on God. Deal with your failure and move on. Remember that God is always faithful. His love does not decrease with our failures. Nor does it increase with successes. God loves us just the way we are. So be sure that isolated failures donít get in the way of Godís plans for your life. Another way to respond when faced with failure is toÖ

2.  DEVELOP A TEACHABLE HEART.

ìYou will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins.  Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you.î (Prov. 28:13 TEV)

Learn from your mistakes. Again, we all make mistakes, but only fools make the same mistake over and over again. And the difference between those who are teachable and those who are not is pride. Yes, prideful people are not willing to acknowledge their mistakes or weaknesses. Sure failures expose them, but prideful people will not admit their errors in judgment. Thus, they continually make the same mistakes over and over again. On the other hand, a teachable person looks for lessons in the midst of failures. Heíll learn the lesson and then move on.

Sometimes when our pride gets in our way, we tend to pack it up our failures and carry that baggage into the future. As a result, we cannot hear the lesson God is trying to teach. Therefore, in order to learn from an error, we need to admit that it happened, confess our involvement in it, and make the necessary adjustments or corrections. That way we wonít make the same mistakes again.

ìHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.î (1Pet. 5:6-7)

QUESTION:  Can God heal us when we deny our part in mistakes and failures? Why or why not?

God is eager to forgive us and help us learn from our failures. Godís plan is that failures will strengthen us, not weaken us. So keep your eyes fixed on the bigger picture, not on your present circumstance. Then cooperate with God, be teachable, and move on. And finallyÖ

3.      BE GRATEFUL FOR GODíS GRACE.

ìHe said to him the third time, ëSimon, son of John, do you love me?í Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ëDo you love Me?í And he said to Him, ëLord, You know all things; You know that I love you.í Jesus said to him, ëTend My sheep.í (John 21:17)

ìNow as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.î (Acts 4:13)

God loves us unconditionally even though He knows we will fail. In fact, God says that if you love Him you will forget past mistakes and get back into the game. He has that much confidence in each of us and He wants us to continue on. Remember He is not looking for perfect people. (Thank you, God) There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn more of His love. And there is nothing we can do to make Him love us any less. His unconditional love for us is constant even though we are not deserving of it.

And that is Godís grace.

Learn to respond to failure by keeping the bigger picture in mind, having a teachable heart, and being grateful for Godís grace. Stay the course. No matter how many times we may fall short, keep getting up and pressing on. Blessed are those who endure for victory will be yours. And when we stay in the game and are thankful for His grace, the message we send to the world will become the greatest witness of how loving our Heavenly Father truly is.

QUESTIONS:

?        Sometimes we get bogged down with the burden of failing.  But we donít have to carry that burden forever.  How does God want us to respond? 

?        What do we gain by making ourselves totally available to Godís instruction?

?        Describe an incident where you failed but found Godís grace.  How has this changed your life?

?        God has forgiven us.  How does this encourage you to keep pressing on when you feel like a failure? 

?        How can you encourage others who are feeling discouraged and feeling like a failure?

Say mahalo to Phyllis Unebasami, one of our faithful volunteer writers.  We are grateful for you!