Nothing Succeeds Like Failure

Failure is not a goal. Failure is not an option. It is to be avoided at all possible costs. Nothing good can come out of failure. It's bad, right?

Yes, it is but that doesn't mean that it can't be made into the greatest success. Your last failure may be exactly what you needed to do what would never have been done without it.

King David's greatest failure was his indiscretion with Bathsheba. We can't say that this was a good thing. He committed adultery, lied and had a man killed. The first child born of that union died because of David's sins. This would be a simple story of failure if the story ended there but it doesn't. God doesn't let us languish in our failures unless we want to.

The union of David and Bathsheba would produce Solomon. He was the greatest king Israel would ever know. He expanded the kingdom to a level it had never known before or since. He built the most magnificent temple that has ever been built. He made Israel the most prosperous nation on the earth.

Simon Peter's story would echo the story of success coming from failure. He had bragged about his courage to stand and fight for his Lord. He disdained the cowardice of his fellow disciples. Less than twelve hours later he is denying his Lord with a curse. Jesus heard this denial and Peter knew it. He went out to weep. That would be a tragedy if it were the end of the story.

Peter became the leader of the new Church. Stories report that he would not deny his Lord again. They say that he refused not be executed like Jesus. He asked to be crucified upside down. His witness continues throughout history. The Church would not have been what she is without Simon Peter.

The Friday afternoon that Jesus was taken from the Cross would certainly been evaluated as a failure if that was the end of the story. The disciples were scattered and scared. The women despaired at the loss of Jesus. It seemed that all their hopes and dreams died that day. Thank God that isn't the whole story!

We all have failures. They hurt. They seem final but they aren't. They may even seem fatal at times. Have you considered putting your failure in God's hands and seeing what will be produced? God has a great reputation for taking those failures and making the greatest successes.

There is really nothing like failure to make a success. Failure prevents us from making greater failures. It teaches us the direction we should not go. It opens doors that would never have been opened. It is an opportunity disguised as something bad.

I am not saying anyone should try to fail. You should avoid it if you can. I am saying that you shouldn't wallow in your failures. I am saying that something immeasurably good can come from the failures.

God has a way of turning our failures around. Nothing succeeds like failure.