Daily Devotional For Friday, November 17, 2023

Every single person experiences failure. Arianna Huffington said this:

• “Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”
• Michael Barata, speaking about failure, said this, “A failure is not a loss. It’s a gain. You learn. You change. You grow.”
• I really love what Christian author Frances Chan wrote: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” 

No one succeeds the first time at anythin nor do they succeed every time in anything they are proficient at doing. The first step you took as a toddler, you fell down. The first time you attempted to ride a bike, you fell down or off. This that is the point of Proverbs 24:16, “A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again” (NOG). The Bible is a book that gives us the failures of some of God’s most faithful people, who to this day, many times are not judged by their failure. Failureis over-rated and usually exaggerated by those who fail. Here is some good news -- failure will probably not kill you.

To succeed at anything, you have to risk and overcome failure and the fear of failure. Here are some contemporary stats on some people you might know. Here is the web link for more: https://www.wanderlustworker.com/48-famous-failures-who-will-inspire-you-to-achieve/

• George Washington lost two-thirds of all the battles he fought. But he won the Revolutionary War and later became the first U.S. president.
• Napoleon graduated 42nd in a class of 43. Then he went out and conquered Europe.
• In 21 years, Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs, but he struck out 1,330 times. He struck out nearly twice as often as he hit a home run.
• The famous novelist John Creasey received 753 rejection letters before he published 564 books.
• Rowland Hussey Macy failed seven times at retailing before starting Macy’s department store.
• Sir James Dyson, who invented the Dyson Vacuum Cleaner, had 5,126 failed prototypes before creating his best selling vacuum cleaner.
• Stephen Spielberg, whose cinematic output has grossed more than $9 billion that earned him 2 Academy Awards , 11 Emmys. 3 Oscars and 7 Golden Globe Awards, was rejected twice by twice by the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. He also struggled with dyslexia.
• Thomas Edison who holds over 1,000 patents, was told by his teachers he was too stupid to learn anything.
• Walt Disney was told by newspapers initially that he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Undeterred, Old Walt did not listen to them.
• J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, was rejected multiple times by publishers. Before there was a wizard, there was welfare. Just before her Harry Potter books, Rowling was broke, depressed, divorced and a single mother. She was told no one would want to read her books. Today, she is one of the wealthiest women in the world.
• Theodore Seuss, affectionately known as Dr. Seuss, had his first book rejected by 27 different publishers.
• Wilmington’s own Michael Jordan, who is considered by some as the greatest basketball player of all time, missed more than 9,000 shots in his career, lost 300 games, and on 26 occasions, was given the ball to take the final shot to win the game and missed.

Great people are ordinary people who have extraordinary determination.They just keep on trying. It’s like the old adage: “If at first you do not succeed, try, try again.” Look at Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are [a]ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way. (24) Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand” (NKJV).

One of the best definitions of failure I ever heard is this: Failure is quitting. So, what successful people do who fail, is they redefine their failure. Failure is not missing the goal or mark. Failure is refusing to get back up and start over again. David writes in Psalm 145:14, “The Lord helps those who are in trouble; He lifts those who have fallen” (GNT). Guess what? That includes you.

Years ago Christian pastor and author Chuck Swindoll wrote a book about this called, Three Steps Forward, And One Step Back. That is how many of us feel who are Christians. There are days we are loving God, serving God, and obeying God and all of sudden, we take a step back from all of this. We feel defeated. We feel we are a failure. Therefore, we can encouragement from 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. (9) We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed" (NLT).

Here are some questions to consider:

1. Who do you admire because of how they handled failure? What specifically is you admire about how they handle their failure?
2. What has been your greatest failure and what did you learn from it?
3. After you fail, what keeps you motivated to keep trying?

Love you, Pastor Kelly

Verse to Meditate On: Philippians 3:13-14, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, (14) with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (NET).

Prayer to Pray: “Dear Jesus, there are so many obstacles, challenges and vulnerabilities I face that at times simply wants me to throw my hands up in the air, and quit. I love You Jesus and I hate it when I sin against You and blow it. Thank You for forgiving me and helping me to start over. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”