Monday, June 2, 2008

Successful Failures--Lessons in Proverbs (2 of 2)

SUCCESSFUL FAILURES—LESSONS IN PROVERBS (2 OF 2)
Proverbs 20:30, 28:13, Philippians 3:13-14
Proverbs 20:30: "Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being." 28:13: "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but he who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."


The last time, we saw several causes of failure. Today, let’s learn how to flip failure into personal success. After failure strikes, (and it will,) here are some steps to begin again. Just like getting back on a horse after falling off, we can pick ourselves up and brush off the dust after realizing failure.


The least we suffer is bruising our pride; the suffering can be much more intense. But, God is in the business of plucking us out of the pit. Will we have the courage to begin anew? Here are ideas on how to start fresh with dignity:


Accept responsibility. Welcome to the human race—everyone makes mistakes.
Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent.




God scowled. (Genesis 3:12-19). “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.”

Failure has Benefits—Recognize them. Failure brings people down a peg or two— embarrassment teaches lessons. Try, try again. Everything that’s worthwhile, is worth doing well. This often means doing something over and over—until it’s right. Life is people’s school of learning. What an education! It is often the best source of creativity.

Reflection. If everything were easy, we wouldn’t appreciate many blessings. Failure is one way that God uses for us to reflect on the direction our lives are heading. It’s up to us to evaluate and re-evaluate what’s important. “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.”

Understanding. Wisdom comes with understanding. Understanding why we failed is the first avenue to avoiding repeating that mistake. If you don’t get it, ask God to show you how to not repeat the mistake—avoiding more failure.

Forget and let go. With eyes on the future, the past is behind us. No one can change the past, so moving forward is a productive way to end self rebuke. Wallowing in self pity never changed a thing.

Brothers and sisters, I cannot consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: By never looking back, my stride forward gets longer. “I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Take Home Nugget
All we can do is abide in Christ and study the Bible for learning His way. But things do go wrong, despite our best efforts. Our future is still side open for success.

Sometimes our plan does not unfold
The way we thought it would;
But God is always in control
To use it for our good. Sper

J.D. Griffith
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