Moving from failure to success (1)

Tue, 6 Feb 2024

‘Whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle.’ Hebrews 11:34

The writer of Hebrews said: ‘I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets … whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies’ (Hebrews 11:32, 34 NIV). Some of the biggest success stories in Scripture are about people who struggled with weaknesses and character flaws. They were mired in seeming failure and defeat, yet by God’s grace, they overcame the obstacles and odds stacked against them. The overriding theme of the Bible is resurrection – getting back up again! Here is the question: if you can’t avoid failure, and you’re not supposed to give in to it or let it colour your thinking, how do you handle it?

First, change your attitude. Don’t listen to people who put you down when you fail or tell you not to bother trying something because you’ll fail. These people are underachievers with a negative mindset. They never get anywhere for lack of trying and stay stuck in a rut, and they feel more comfortable if you stay stuck with them. The people who succeed in life have faith and tenacity. They refuse to give up; they have decided not to let failure defeat them. Note the words ‘whose weakness was turned to strength’. You may start out weak, but by God’s grace, you can become strong. You can rise from the ashes of failure, achieve your goals, and live the life God intends. How do we know? Because God’s Word says so!