Monday Memo 345: The Time Has Come!

It’s here! You made it! This is our week to celebrate failure. (If you don't know how to celebrate or what the celebration is all about, you can access my other entries about failure on the site where they are posted.) I’ve had so many failures that I hardly know where to begin. Should I focus on my business failure that led me to discover my purpose? Or how about my time at a Christian ministry that ended when we ran out of money in my division? Or perhaps my less-than-stellar stint as a senior pastor in Orlando, Florida?

I have so much to celebrate this week because each of these experiences—you could call them failures—made me the man I am today. Each one helped shape my purpose message that now touches thousands of lives all over the world. I can celebrate these failures because I now see God’s fingerprints all over them. I want to continue to learn and grow and, to do that, I must not shrink away from failure. You need to have this same attitude.

IS THERE ANYTHING LEFT TO SAY ABOUT FAILURE?

A few years ago, my pastor preached a message that included some quotes on fear and failure and I want to close our celebration by looking at those quotes.

1. Failure is an attitude, not an outcome. That’s so true! Failure can’t be an outcome or a destination, for it teaches and trains us in better ways to carry out God’s plan for our lives. One time I received this email from a reader in Zimbabwe: “My business failed four months ago and I have been running away from the fact that things have not gone according to plan. It’s been good to read the memo every Monday openly talking about failure. I have come to terms with the failure and look at it as a positive experience for me. Today's memo about the astronauts having to change course has been an eye opener. I was so afraid to declare the business a failure because this would have reflect my short coming and thought it meant that I am not a good business man. Truth is the failure has freed me to take risks in life. A life of faith is a life of risk. All the great men of God were big risk takers. Thank you very much for ministering to me at this very emotional time in my life. Looks like I am a "Successful Student" who has just learned important, life-changing truths from a failed business idea! Let me go and celebrate my success.” This reader understands that failure is an attitude; it is a destination only if you accept it as such. Otherwise it’s a wonderful, powerful learning experience.
2. Failure isn’t final; God’s promises are. I think failure teaches us to look past what is before us so we can stand on something much more lasting and powerful—the word and promises of God! Paul wrote about this when he said: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Have you lost heart? Then be encouraged today. God’s plan for you isn’t finished. Your best days are ahead of you. Pick yourself up, determine what you’ve learned and move on! Don’t allow failure or your interpretation of it slow you down.
3. Faith is merely fear that has said its prayers. Many people believe that courage is the absence of fear, and success is a steady stream of successes and right steps. If you are going to succeed and be a person of purpose, however, you must face your fears and one of those fears is failure. You don’t want to look foolish, don’t want people talking about you, and don’t want to endure the criticism or misunderstandings. When you were a baby, you learned to walk by falling down. The same is true today. Proverbs states, “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity” (Proverbs 24:16). When you fall down, face your fears, say your prayers and then get back in the game called life. Only the wicked can be brought down by failure.
4. A life lived in fear is a life half lived (Spanish proverb). It’s my experience that many believers live half-lives. They’re so afraid of missing the Lord that they miss the Lord. So afraid of doing the wrong thing that they do no thing. In Revelation, Jesus said: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8 emphasis added). It’s the fearful and those without faith who are first thrown into the lake of fire. What does that tell you about how God’s people should treat fear and unbelief? Stop letting fear of failure rob you of your success. Shake it off and do something, not anything, but something that God has put in your heart to do. And if you fail, well, then pick yourself up and try again. Don’t be reckless, but don’t be too cautious either. Just don’t let fear rule your life any more.

LET’S WRAP IT UP.

So there you have it. We have studied and celebrated failure. More importantly, we have survived it to move on to new adventures. Are you ready? This week isn’t about building monuments to your shortcomings; it’s about moving forward in boldness and faith. It’s not about a morbid analysis of your weaknesses, but a new, exhilarating realization that God is with you. When you realize that God is often more comfortable with you and your past than you are, then you can get up and step out. I pray that the grace of God will be with you this week and that you will move on to great victories in the coming days. Thank you for celebrating with me and have a great week!

Feel free to write your comments on the site where this entry is posted.

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PURPOSEQUEST RADIO STARTS MAY 21! Since the beginning of the year, I have heard in my heart, "Broadcast! Set My people free!" I am convinced that I need to get the purpose message out to as many people as possible by whatever means possible. In other words, I need to cast the message broadly.

That is why I accepted an invitation to broadcast a weekly show on the talk Internet station Voice America. My first show is on Wednesday, May 21, and will be rebroadcast 12 hours later on the same station. You don't need any special software to listen; just go to the Voice America website and listen. What's more, you will be able to call and ask questions!

The show will air live at 9 AM Eastern Standard Time, which is 8 AM in Dallas, 6 AM on the West Coast, 2 PM in England, 3 PM in Zimbabwe, 4 PM in Kenya, and 9 PM in Singapore

If you would like to be a sponsor for the show or would like to contribute to the production costs, you can go to my website and make a contribution through PayPal or send a check to the address given on the website. What's more, I should have a new and revised website up and running by then. These are busy but exciting times!

I hope you will listen and even call with questions. The show will run for 13 weeks and then we will determine whether to go forward with more. Your response and support will determine whether or not I can do taht. I will have more information about how to call during the show in the coming weeks and now to access the shows in the archives in case you miss one. If you can help me fund the program or if you have ideas for people I can interview on the show, please don't hesitate. Write me today!

Comments

[Dennis Boddy]

I so appreciate 'celebrate a failure week' as it helps me to get my focus right on failure. Too often I tend to sit in the doldrums and mope about whatever has gone wrong, CAFW reminds me that failure is a time to learn and grow, to pay my 'university fees' and move on much wiser. Thanks Dr John.