Not a Failure

Continuing my series on ‘NOT’ Have you ever felt like Charlie Brown? I sure have. I have failed miserably in my life time and time again. I have failed in:

1. Not drinking enough water - Experts say you should drink eight glasses of water a day.
2. Not Brushing or flossing my teeth enough - Dentists say you should brush your teeth after every meal and floss every day.
3. Let my gas tank in my truck run lower than a 1/8th of a tank – Studies have shown letting your gas tank get to Empty is bad for the engine.
4. I haven’t made my bed every day.
5. Not gotten more than 6 hours of sleep at night for the last few years - Doctors say the average adult should get no less than 8 hours of sleep per night.
6. Not observed the posted speed limit – speeding is against the law.

These may sound silly but this list is not complete. I failed in telling you ALL my failures…LOL!

Guess what?

All of us fail occasionally – don’t we? It is not out desire or intent but it happens. Everybody experiences failure, and everybody experiences the fear of failure. In fact, just the fear of failure paralyzes millions of people. Yet, many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

No one likes to talk about his or her Failures. How then can we overcome the fear of failure so that it does not paralyze us to move forward?
James 3:2 - We all stumble in many ways.

Everybody fails. Nobody is perfect. We all blow it. You can’t get away from that principle in Scripture. Great men of the Bible failed.

Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.

FAILURE IS WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR BEST JUST ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH!

Proverbs 24:16 - For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

Even Christians stumble. All of them!!! George Washington lost 2/3 of all the battles he fought during the American Revolution, but eventually won the war and became the first President of the United States. Billy Graham said that when he was asked to preach his first sermon. He had 4 sermons prepared and he was so nervous he preached all four of them in under 10 minutes.

Can you imagine if Billy Graham had said, “You know, I’m just not cut out for this. I don’t want to endure that kind of embarrassment again”? The world would have missed one of the most inspired preachers of all time. Failure doesn’t have to be final.

Isn’t it true that many of us give up too quickly? But one of the best ways to learn is through failure. You become a success through failure. One of the reasons why mature people stop growing and learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.

Paul said of the Romans in Romans 8: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…according to His purpose.

One of the most well-known people of the New Testament is a man named Simon. He knew all about failure. He gave up when he walked on water. He failed when he refused to let Jesus wash his feet. He failed when he took out his sword and cut off the ear of a servant of the High Priest. He failed to stand up for Jesus during the trial before Herod. He failed to stand with Jesus at the foot of the cross. When you read through the Gospels, it seems like Simon messes up almost everything he tries.

But Jesus gave Simon the name, “Peter” which means “rock.” He offered forgiveness for all of Simon’s failings, and Peter preached one of the greatest sermons in the history of Christianity where 3,000 people became followers of Jesus Christ.

You ever notice when God’s plan for you is greatness, he changes your name? Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul? Hopeless to Forgiven. Sinner to Saved. What’s your name?
When you fail at something, maybe God is developing a skill that you didn’t know you had. You see, God uses failure to direct us into a new area. Some of us have tried a ministry and we feel as if we’ve failed and so we just kind of washed our hands and walked away. That’s not what God wants for us. He wants us to develop our skills.

If we want to conquer the fear of failure, we have to discover that everyone fails, determine that failure is not final, discern the benefits of failure.

The only failure that is complete is when we fail to respond to God’s love.

Loving God is “Not a Failure”!

Not Economy Dependent

Having finished the book, “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman…again. I decided to write a series on the word ‘not’. Hence the title for this writing, “Not Economy Dependent”. This series will be in relation to God’s promise of an “Abundant Life”.
God doesn’t need a healthy economy, to be able to supply our needs.

Many of you know by experience how God can do more with 90% of our income than we can do with 100%. God can supply our needs in a bad economy just as easily as He can in a prosperous economy.

A few years ago, I was on disability and what the government sent me… just wasn’t enough. I had enough for rent, gas and utilities but not enough for food. So I prayed. I kept checking my mailbox day after day for money; I kept checking my refrigerator to see if God had put food in there for me and when I found nothing… I asked God why. God just said be patient.

What I did have left for food was running very low. It was a pretty good assessment in a day; I would be out of food. That morning, I received a call from my brother in Christ, John. He gave me a phone number to call about a possible donation to the church.

When I called, there was a food distribution company opening a retail outlet nearby and wanted to donate food to my church. They not only donated food that day but it’s been almost 2 years since I made that call. They are still donating food to this day by the truck load.

Oh, God gave me food…..but not the way I was thinking!

God frequently provides just enough at just the right time. (Exodus 16:1-35)

Exodus 16:4 - Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”

God can sustain us through extended periods of need in our lives. (I Kings 17:1-16)

1 Kings 17:14 - For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!”

God can make bitter water sweet. (Exodus 15:22-27)

Exodus 15: 24, 25 - Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the LORD for help, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.

God can bring water out of a rock. Numbers (20:1-13)

Numbers 20:11 - Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.

God wants daily trust in Him, not trust in our reserve funds. We must plan for the future, but trust God with the future! It’s unwise not to invest for the future, and not to save for the unexpected.

Prov. 21:20 “20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.”

God can supply our needs in a bad economy just as easily as He can in a prosperous economy. We are living in an economic crisis now. Our lives are a little less comfortable than the past, but our needs will be provided for.

Social Security may be there and it may not be but God will always have enough for our needs. God’s resources are inexhaustible and limitless. Let’s stop worrying about your future needs and let God take care of it.

God’s provisions are not governed by the economy!