Perspectives on Failure

The only difference between a rut and a grave... is their dimensions. -Ellen Glasgow

The Bible teaches that if we commit to the Lord what we do, we will succeed. Now, you'd think that if the Bible were truly the inerrant word of God, that the logical conclusion would be success, success, success. Well, yeah, that makes sense.

And later, we read that even if our heart, which is hopelessly flawed, gets off track, God will step in and work for the good of those who love Him...[and] called...to His purpose. Romans 8.28.

So, doesn't this mean that every ministry effort committed to God will succeed?

That depends on what your definition of is is...

This is not a dance with symantics. Success, if it is to be viewed as a result of the intersection of our faith and God's faithfulness, can not be defined entirely by what we view as success. There are two sides to this equation. As I ranted earlier this week, the Christian life is marked by a foundational belief that Father reall does know best and He will prosper us from time to time despite our own efforts. Just because we perceive an event as failure doesn't mean it is a failure in His eyes, nor does it mean that the event is the final outcome.

How's your vision? Are you seeing failure as an event or another dashed line along the highway to God's ultimate plan for your life? Are you in a rut? Even great leaders will get into ruts from time to time. The difference between a leader and a drifter is how long and how deep they stick around. Leaders don't let temporary defeat become their final resting place. Drifters let the rut become the defining characteristic of their life.