Failure
2 Cor 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
2 Cor 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Failure is something that most people do not like. It is always regarded in the negative sense, but when we get the revelation that failure only narrows down the path to our destiny, then we will learn to embrace our failures instead of running from them.
When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb he faced the task of creating something that had never even been seen before. He did not re-invent the light bulb. All he had was a concept in his own mind. Something that had never been done and something that no one had ever seen. While developing one small aspect of the light bulb, the filament inside the bulb that would create the light, he literally failed hundreds of times before he found anything that was even close. His goal was not the filament, but the light bulb, so he looked past his failures, embraced them and learned from them and moved on. Edison was so consumed with his creation that he often slept in his laboratory and only slept a few hours at a time. His failures only narrowed down the path to his destiny.
During the Civil War, when Ulysses Grant took over the head of the Union Army he faced one of the greatest generals of all times, Robert E. Lee. During one battle, Grant was at the point of failure and his staff of advisors advised him to retreat, but instead of retreating, Grant fired the negative people on his staff and decided to march into Richmond, cutting off the supplies to the Confederate Army. During the Civil War, Grant never actually had one clear cut victory during the war. But, his goal was not to win a battle, but to win the war. He often went from battle to battle, never really winning, but instead moved onto the next battle.
Each of us has a purpose and a destiny. Each of us has a concept buried inside of us, even if you don’t know what it is. When we have the proper attitude and proper focus, our destiny, then we can embrace failure as our friend and learn from it and move on to our ultimate goal. Likewise, rejection, too, is good. All rejection does is free us from the people that are not like minded and allows us to move on to find those who are. People often do not reject you, they reject your goal or your destiny. Their path is often just different than yours and were not meant to walk with you. Praise God in the fact that you are free to move on. Always remember that what ever you were created for, God is well able to finish what He started. Failure only narrows the path to your destiny.
Phil 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
2 Cor 4:8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2 Cor 4:9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
God Bless,
Dave Apel