Failure Can Be a Good Thing

Sometimes the best medicine we need to cure us from the illness of complacency, arrogance, stagnation, and routine is failure.  That's right ... failure.  Why? When we fail at something we have pursued, worked at rigorously, and invested a lot of time, energy, resources and effort, it stuns us to know that we fell short of achieving our goal.

But here are three reasons why failure can be a good thing:

1. Failure keeps us humble. If we are always ranked #1 in our own minds or in the minds of others, that produces arrogance. No one wants to be around an arrogant person.  
2. Failure keeps us hungry. It's like a professional boxer who gets punched in the mouth and drops to the ground.  He gets angry about that, gets up, and aggressively goes after the one who knocked him down.  
3. Failure helps us focus.  When we realize that we can't always win, there's a reality check that we experience.   It puts things into proper perspective.  There's always going to be someone faster, stronger, smarter, bigger, more handsome, more beautiful, younger, more experienced, more talented and more liked than us.  That's the reality, folks! The sooner we accept these truths, the better off we become. 

Consider these famous quotes from highly successful people in their own right ...

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." - Bill Gates (Microsoft co-founder and Philanthropist)

"Winning is great, sure, but if you are going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.  Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday." - Wilma Rudolph (Olympic Champion) 

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas A. Edison (Inventor of Light Bulb) 

The Bible reminds us that none of us does the right thing all of the time - Romans 3:23.  What does that mean? It means that we have all failed God spiritually at some point in our lives by sinning against Him.  We have missed the mark or standard that He set for us. What can be more debilitating than digesting that reality? The Good News, however, is that God has compensated for our failure by sending His Son Jesus Christ to make all of us ETERNAL WINNERS!!! Through the BLOOD of Jesus Christ, we have access to God the Father and a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe! 

GOD WANTS YOU!!! 

When Life Makes No Sense

Sometimes life makes no sense.  This can happen when it seems that everyone is against us, when we've lost a job, or our health is in jeopardy, when we experience relationship problems, or maybe our friends abandoned us during difficult times.  When these series of negative events happen, it seems like life makes no sense. 

The Good News is that God doesn't abandon us! 

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." - Psalm 46:1 (NLT). 

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. God doesn't back down from a challenge or crisis! He embraces hardship, suffering, obstacles and difficulties because He knows that He has the power, resources, ability and wisdom to overcome anything that confronts Him.  This is why it is important for us to always be aligned with God, in both good times and bad times.  We need to anchor our lives upon the One who can lead us into triumph and victory!

GOD WANTS YOU!!!