Scripture

Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress, revive me once again! Bring me up once again from the depths of the earth!

~Psalm 71:20, NET

Quote

Defeat or failure are not final; it’s God’s way of pointing you to true success.

~Charles F. Stanley

Mary and Martha were disappointed in Jesus because He did not show up in time to heal their brother. Indirectly, they blamed Jesus for Lazarus death. Both basically said the same thing, “If You had been here, our brother would not have died.” We all know that God can prevent death or disease and we are prone to blame him when misfortune strikes. All of our failure is not due to our mistakes or our hardness of heart. Unfortunate things happen to the best of people. Few if any have suffered more than Job and no one has ever suffered like Jesus. Job was the best man on earth at the time and Jesus was perfect; yet both suffered. So why does God allow bad things to happen to people who are trying to do the right thing? Let’s narrow the search just a bit, why does God allow us to fail? Moses failed–he killed a man in anger. David failed–he slept with another man’s wife. Peter failed–he put confidence in his flesh instead of relying on Jesus. Although they all failed: we don’t consider any of the three to be failures. So why does God allow us to fail?

God uses failure to break us. A wild horse is of no use to anyone until it is broken. The trainer knows how to break the horse’s will without breaking its spirit. Failure breaks our will. It makes our hearts fallow. We learn to receive the LORD’s instructions. Eventually, we find ourselves desiring God’s will above all else. It is a part of our sanctification and he is the product of grace. Failure also helps us see our weakness and inadequacies. It help us focus on our need for God’s grace and power. Failure destroys our confidence in the flesh and our faith in Christ grows stronger. This is a basic lesson in the Christian life; to depend totally on Jesus and not on ourselves. So accept the fact that failure is a teacher and all of us can learn from our failures if we will humble ourselves and admit that we fail. Of course the person who refuses to acknowledge their own sin and failure, will not grow; they will not move forward toward success. Some people are really good at spotting the sins of others but they never confess any of their own. I don’t know about you but my hearts desire is to grow in grace and to make some progress. Your sin is not my problem; your sin will not keep me from making progress. The only thing that can stop me is my sin and my refusal to confess them and repent of them. People who’s focus on the sins of others, instead of their own, never make any progress.

Extra

Finally got to talk to Traci yesterday. She said Gregg had a bad day Monday but she things he is getting a little better. Continue to pray for Gregg and Traci. My sister Holly started her chemo yesterday. Pray for Holly Bailey Roberts, Beth Jones and all those battling cancer.

For those of us who wanted fall, we got it. It was chilly this morning. I should have put on my hoodie before I left the house. My office is cool. I love it! Planted my turnips yesterday and by the way, I got an answer to prayer this week, we got old Whitey-Hugh-Gene cranked {3000 Ford Tractor}, plowed up our garden and got him in the barn. It was daddy’s old tractor and I have had it for almost 30 years and it had a cracked head when I got it. Ty’s granddaddy {Dwight Breedlove} put some JB Wield on it and I have been using it since. It does get harder to crank each year. God is good. I have no complaints about Dwight’s mechanic work or the hours I have gotten out of Whitey-Hugh Gene. Hugh Fitzgerald bought the front bumper so I changed the name from Eugene to Whitey-Hugh-Gene. I have a cub formal named Ed; it was given to me by the Livingston family in memory of their dad Ed Livingston.