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Friday, August 7, 2009

Becoming More Christ-like Through "Failure

Have you ever had to deal with failure? That's a silly question, isn't it! Most of have! Yet, we might not think it is a silly question to ask, because sometimes we think that failure is not common to a lot of people. But if we are honest, we all have to deal with the feelings of disappointment, defeat, depression, and even the despair failure brings when it is not dealt with in a Biblical way.

You are not alone in your failure. Those whom you may look at and even envy or wish you could change places with have failed at one time or another. In fact, if the truth were known, they probably are dealing with the feeling of failure to one degree or another in one or more areas of their lives.

As you read this, you may feel alone. You may feel like the biggest failure. You may think there is no recovery, but God has good news for us! If you will take God at His Word (and it is printed out in black and white in the Bible), your failure will become a stepping stone to greater relationship with God. Failure will become a means to an end, rather than the end!

The reason this is true is because to fail is to be humbled. Failure makes us aware of our own impotence, our imperfections, and our shortcomings. Failure brings us low. And if we respond properly by humbling ourselves before our heavenly Father, then according to James 4:10, if we “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor”. And when God lifts us up, after we experience the humiliation and defeat of failing, then we know that it is Him and not us. Then the experience won’t be a source of pride in what we did, which would eventually lead to greater defeat and failure.

So in the light of this, let's look at failure. To fail means that . . . you didn't measure up, you didn't achieve your goal, you didn't hit the standard you or someone else had set, you didn't accomplish what you thought you should accomplish or wanted to achieve.

In a sense, this is where life begins-in a state of failure. The Bible says: “For I was born a sinner". (Psalm 51:5). To sin is to miss the mark, the standard set by God. It is to fall short-to fail to be what we are to be. All mankind is born into that state. Romans 3:23 says, ". . . everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard."

Consequently, we are all slated for failure unless we turn to God.

Christianity is God's means of bringing us out of failure! But it is a process-and that is what so many of us forget in our relationships and dealings with others and in our understanding of ourselves and of where we are in the process of being more Christ-like.

To be more Christ-like means the living of our lives in such a way as to know, believe, and embrace what God says so that our actions and thoughts are according to His principles. Then we experience success rather than defeat!

Remember, the world's definition of success is far different from God's, and that is only logical since the “world” does not know God, fear God, or trust God. So you must not measure yourself or your success by the world's standard. To do so would be foolish. Jesus, right before His crucifixion, when praying for his disciples said: “they do not belong to the world”. It is the same for us, we are in the world but we do not “belong to the world.”

Therefore, what the world considers "failure" may not be failure at all. For instance, if you did not meet your goals today, it does not mean that you failed; but if you violate one of God's principles that would be failure-and that can be handled immediately by repentance and confession.

God and obedience to His principles, will take us from failure to success by humbling us to the point where we know the only way to genuinely succeed, or to be blameless, is through Him.
So, how does one recover from falling short? How does one go from stumbling to standing?
The answers will be varied according to where and how we failed, but the source will always remain the same . . . God Word. That is why we must be in the Word of God on a consistent basis. But it is going to take discipline on our part.

Do not give in to despair - God is our redeemer. He buys back, buys out, rescues, sets free, protects. He is the God of another chance to all who genuinely have a change of mind and throw themselves into His outstretched arms.

You may be thinking, "That may be true, it may work for you or for you others, but it won't work for me." If so, then you are listening to the liar, Satan (for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44). You have met the thief whose “purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. John 10:10. The one who is determined to keep you a failure. The only way you will bring him down, the only way you will extinguish those fiery arrows is through the God’s Word, the Bible. His Word is truth . . . and it will lead us to victory.

So, run to God. Confess your failure-name it for what it is. Call it nothing less, don't sugarcoat it or gloss over it. Call it by name. Be honest, be blunt. Say it aloud. Tell God you want to succeed, not fail, and that you know only He can do that. Tell Him you are willing to do whatever is necessary if He will simply show you what to do by laying it upon your heart, putting it in your mind. Then check it out. Make sure what you are "hearing in your mind, feeling in your heart" is in accord with the whole teaching of the Bible.

If you have that assurance, then do whatever God leads you to do. Remember, if what you are feeling, if what you are hearing is of God, it will be in keeping with His character and with His Word. If you are wrong, but in your heart you want to do right, God will make that known to you (Philippians 3:15). When you are convinced of what God wants you to do, then cling to Him, to His promises . . . and watch what God will do! Strive to do to all He tells you. Don't turn to the right or to the left. Then and only then you will have success, for it is God's intent that you succeed rather than fail.

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (Joshua 1:8).

Failure can either be a stumbling block that flattens you or it can be a stepping-stone to a life of success built upon the unmovable Cornerstone. It is all a matter of faith.

The remedy for failure is faith . . . faith's obedience, faith's trust in the One who stands behind every word of His holy book, the Bible.

Remember, you only fail if you refuse to believe God and refuse to allow your failure to be a stepping-stone to being more Christ-like.

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