“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that
he will also reap.”—Galatians 6:7
You may have heard the expression
that God does not create any failures; however, when we look at the world
around us, we can see failure. Financial
institutions have failed, a variety of types of business have been forced to
close there doors, and all around the world we see relationships that have
failed. Failure can be a dreadful
word. No one likes to the think about
failure, or experience it. However,
everyone can be subject to the attacks of failure. Throughout the Scriptures, many of God’s
servants suffered failures. Some of the
most successful men and women in history have experienced failure. If God does not create failures, why then are
we seeing so many of them? I believe
that there are times that God allows failure because we as humans are not
perfect, and those individuals who go on to eventually succeed are the ones who
understand the difference between temporary defeat and failure. These are the ones who look beyond life’s
occasional setbacks, and refuse to give up, no matter what obstacles that
confront them.
Jesus’ parable of two men who had
built a house is a vivid picture of both success and failure. One of the men built the foundation of his
house upon rock, the other on sand. When
the storms unleashed their fury, one house stood and the other fell. “Therefore
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise
man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came,
and winds blew and beat on that
house; and it did not fail, for it was founded on the rock. But
everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a
foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew
7:24-27). In this parable, we can find
two principles that can protect us from lasting failure in our personal,
family, business, and spiritual lives.
First, always build upon the strong,
immovable foundation of truth. Any
aspect of life that violates truth is doomed to failure. It may stand for a season, but eventually it
will collapse. The truth of Scripture
should be our guide in business, as-well-as in our family life. Detours around truth and honesty will always
lead to disappointment and ultimately failure.
Second, build for the storms of life
that come. What you build will be
tested. The consequences of shoddy work,
laziness, dishonesty, though it may be well-hidden, will surely bring failure
tomorrow. You cannot escape the eternal
principle: “Do not be deceived, God is
not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
God is not the author of our failures thought He does allow it. Even though we are His children and want what
is best, we do not always know what is best: therefore, we may experience what
looks like failure. There are times that
we allow ourselves to become sidetracked. Our priorities get out of order; our
motivation becomes selfish; Christ is no longer the center of our lives. These are times that God uses failure as a
way of getting our attention; humbling us, and bringing us back to
Himself.
Always remember that there is a
difference between failing and being a failure.
God does not make failures; however, sometimes He allows us to fail
today in order to bring us success in our tomorrow. God has planted in your every defeat the
seeds of your future success.
Successful people are those who apply God’s remedy: humbling themselves
before Him in repentance, surrendering to His will and His goals for their
lives. For the believer, every failure
can be a stepping stone to success.
Prayer—Father
I thank you that You have not made me a failure. Today I humble myself before
You, and repent for doing things my way. I ask you to help me turn every
situation in my life into a success, in Jesus Name. Amen.
