Failure Can Be A Good Thing

by Tim Howard

I know everyone fails at some time but it doesn’t make any of us feel better when it happens. No one wants to mess up because it’s painful, evokes feelings of disappointment, may have negative effects, doesn’t seem to be positive and recovery takes a lot of effort.  No one sets out to fail but it happens.

One major example is recorded in Joshua chapter 7 in the Old Testament. Joshua was a great leader of Israel and if you read his story, you will discover a massive failure that affected a whole lot of people in an adverse way. The Israelites were attempting to besiege a city called ‘Ai’ with the purpose of expanding their kingdom because they miscalculated some important details and didn’t have a clear understanding of the big picture.

His example should warn us all. Whether it is an individual, a corporate business or the leadership of a nation; failure a-waits those who do not thoroughly investigate all the facts and get to the cause.

There are two responses to failure that can help greatly. Joshua did both and was able to move beyond his failure. Some people move on in life after a defeat but they often don’t move beyond the collapse to recover totally.

1. Resilient people seek to discover the root problem and refuse to deal only with the fruit. They are committed to cutting down the tree and not just trim the branches. Too often we deal only with the symptoms of the failure and not the source.

A life of secrecy and sin surely lead the list but other things contribute to failure as well. When you put in minimum effort and expect maximum results failure is nearby. If you act upon bad advice, the results can be devastating. The ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ syndrome is responsible for many failures and defeat happens frequently if we don’t make a commitment and demonstrate perseverance. Whatever the root reason is, it’s worth finding. It may be obscure, hazy or concealed but you can’t fix something unless you know why something is broken?

2.  Don’t react to failure but respond.

Emotions are wonderful but if you allow them to lead your decision making process in the midst of failure you will react improperly rather than respond correctly.

Here’s a few ‘Do’s and Don’t’ when you fail.

Don’t be quick to look outside before you have taken a long look inside. This will lead to shifting the responsibility onto someone else. Others may have contributed to your debacle but that doesn’t make them responsible for what you do. Do accept full responsibility for your own life and the decisions you make.

Don’t ignore the facts and fail to recognize the ‘Pink Elephant’ in the room. Do focus fully on the problem and seek an honest evaluation.

Don’t quit – take another swing. Someone said: “Failure doesn’t have to be final.”

Don’t blame God but pray to Him. The first thing Joshua did when failure happened was to call out to the One who could help. Some people will look down on you when failure happens and possibly reject you but Jesus will ALWAYS work with you if you come to Him. There’s something good that can come out of failure if we call on God.

Falling Forward

by Tim Howard                               

While reading the Bible this past week I came across a familiar Proverb from King Solomon that caught my attention. It simply says: “Don’t interfere with good people’s lives; don’t try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; Soon they’re up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces.” Msg. That scripture reminded me of a Japanese Proverb that says: Fall seven times and stand up eight."

The wise King and the Japanese Proverb are talking about failure and success. The road to success will always take you on a path that leads through failure. How you deal with failure will determine the level of your success. While it may be difficult to wrestle with failure, I’m convinced success is even more grueling.

For every 10 people who successfully handle failure, there seems to be only one person who can handle success. Maybe that is why we hear so many horror stories from professional sports! Young men and women in their 20’s making millions of dollars before they have developed enough character for their success to stand upon.

In every sporting event where two opposing teams face off, there is a loser and a winner. Someone fails and someone succeeds.  Imagine how the Golden State Warriors felt in comparison to the Cleveland Cavaliers last week when they swept the series. Success feels great and failure – Not so great!

Our view of failure and success must be based on truth. These five quotes might help.

1. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill.

2. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” Confucius

3.  “A man may fail many times but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.” John Burroughs

4.  “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein

5. “Success builds character, failure reveals it.” Dave Checkett

Here’s a bit of wisdom taken from a giant named Goliath. You may remember – He’s the guy everyone thought would surely win the battle with his opponent – David.

When reading the story of David and Goliath it seems impossible that a more powerful, more experienced and much larger man in stature would fail to win this battle?  But he did! Why? The answer is found in three decisions Goliath made as he entered the battle.

1. He chose to depend upon his own strength, his own wisdom and his own abilities rather than God. When human insight trumps heavenly wisdom and you act upon your intuition rather than God’s instruction, you are in trouble.

2. He distanced himself from people and stood alone. No one reaches success apart from the help of others. Learn to love and listen to people. Even if you don’t agree with them.

3. Lastly, Goliath despised small things but it was a small smooth stone, shot from a slingshot that brought about his demise. It’s the little things in life that matter most. Take care of the little things and failure will be minimized in the big things.

If you want your failures to lead to success – Make God a part of the equation – Let people have input and take care of the small things.

Failure and Success

by Tim Howard                                                               

In every sporting event where two opposing teams face off there is a loser and a winner. Someone fails and someone succeeds. The feelings are quite different and the contrasting emotions can be seen in the demeanor of each player.

Imagine how the New England Patriots felt in comparison to the Atlanta Falcons when the Patriots came back from what seemed to be an insurmountable lead to win Super Bowl 51! Success feels great and failure – Not so great!

After all these years, I can still remember the first ‘F’ I received on my report card when I attended Junior High School.  Up until then – I had been a straight ‘A’ student but when I saw that ‘F’ on my report card – It was like branding a very large ‘L’ for loser on my forehead.

Since that time – My view of failure has changed. Here are some quotes I’ve picked up along the way that have helped me evolve.

1. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill.

2. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” Confucius

3.  “A man may fail many times but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.” John Burroughs

4. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” J.K. Rowling

5.  “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein

6. “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” Robert T. Kiyosaki

7. “Success builds character, failure reveals it.” Dave Checkett

Here’s a bit of wisdom, taken from a giant, named Goliath. You may remember – He’s the guy everyone thought would surely win the battle with his opponent – David. Much like those who chose Atlanta to win when it was 28 to 3 in the last few minutes of the 3rd quarter. The story of David and Goliath is in the Bible – 1 Samuel 17.

When reading the record it seems impossible that a more powerful, more experienced and much larger man in stature would fail to win this battle?  But he did! Why? The answer is found in three decisions Goliath made as he entered the battle.

 1. He chose to depend upon his own strength, his own wisdom and his own abilities rather than God. When human insight trumps heavenly wisdom and you act upon your intuition rather than His instruction, you are in trouble. (Check out what Solomon said in Proverbs 3:5-8)

2. He distanced himself from people and stood alone. No one reaches success apart from the help of others. Learn to love and value people. If you don’t, be prepared to fail. 

3. Lastly, Goliath despised small things but it was a small smooth stone, shot from a slingshot that brought about his demise. It’s the little things in life that matter most. Take care of the little things and you can avoid failure in the big things.

If you want to succeed – Learn the truth about failure – Put God first – People second and take care of the little things.

The Good Thing About Failing

by Tim Howard

Everyone fails at some time! I know this to be true but it doesn’t make me feel any better when it happens. No one wants to mess up and there are a myriad of reasons. It’s painful, evokes feelings of disappointment, may have negative effects, is very difficult to see anything positive and recovery takes a lot of effort.  No one sets out to fail but it happens.

One major example is recorded in Joshua chapter 7 in the Old Testament. Joshua was a great leader of Israel and if you read his story, you will discover a massive failure that affected a whole lot of people in an adverse way. In his attempt to besiege a city called ‘Ai’, in order to capture more territory he failed in the attempt. He miscalculated some important details and didn’t have a clear understanding of the big picture.

His example should warn all of us. Whether it be an individual, a corporate business or the leadership of a nation, failure waits around the corner for those do not thoroughly investigate all the facts and clearly see the ‘big picture’ before making major decision of the magnitude that Joshua made.

When failure happens, however, I’ve learned two responses that can help greatly. Joshua did both and was able to move beyond his failure. Some people move on in life after a defeat but you must move beyond the collapse to recover totally.

1. Seek to discover the root problem so you can correct it. There’s always a reason behind any failure. What are some of the reasons we fail?

A life of secrecy and sin surely lead the list but other things contribute as well. When you put in minimum effort and expect maximum results failure is nearby. If you act upon bad advice the results can be devastating. Make sure you know to whom you are listening. The ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ syndrome is responsible for many failures and defeat happens frequently if we don’t make a commitment and demonstrate perseverance. Whatever the root reason is, it’s worth finding. It may be obscure, hazy or concealed but you can’t fix something unless you know where it’s broken?

2. Don’t react to failure but respond.

Emotions are wonderful but if you allow them to lead your decision making process in the midst of failure you will react improperly rather than respond correctly.

Here’s a few ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ when you fail.

Don’t be quick to look outside before you have taken a long look inside. This will lead to shifting the responsibility onto someone else. Others may have contributed to your debacle but that doesn’t make them responsible for what you do. Do accept full responsibility for your own life and the decisions you make.

Don’t ignore the facts and fail to recognize the ‘Elephant’ in the room. Do focus fully on the problem and seek an honest evaluation.

Don’t quit – take another swing. Someone said, “Failure doesn’t have to be final.”

Don’t blame God but pray to Him. The first thing Joshua did when failure happened was to call out to the One who could help. Some people will look down on you when failure happens and possibly reject you, but Jesus will ALWAYS work with you if you come to Him. There’s something good that can come out of failure if we call on God.

Run to Win

by Tim Howard

1Corinthians 9:24 … “You must run to win.” No one plans to fail but it happens! Have you ever heard a high school student say they hope they fail the final exam? A young couple that hopes their marriage ends in divorce or a business owner who tries to go into bankruptcy? No one has. It’s ludicrous, absurd and unheard of. We all want to win!

When Joshua ordered the Israeli military forces to conquer a city called Ai, they failed in their attempt. The odds were stacked in their favor. They outnumbered the city 10 to 1 and had valiant warriors. They had great skill, a proven strategy and a history of success. No one would have bet on Ai but Israel failed and it cost them. Approx 35 to 40 men lost their lives in that battle. It’s recorded in Joshua Chapter 7.

If 35 to 40 men and women were killed in Iraq or Afghanistan today it would be of national interest. Someone would be asking the tough questions. There are reasons behind every failure.

Among other things, Joshua failed because he acted upon bad advice. The details are recorded in Joshua 7. He was told the city was puny and the number of solders was inconsequential. Therefore don’t send all the warriors. Send only a small percentage. 

Lesson One! Whenever you put out minimum effort you set yourself up for failure. You must give it your ALL in everything you do: business, marriage, family, relationships or education. Don’t listen to the voices that say you can get along by giving the least. You ‘may’ fail even after you give it your all but you ‘will’ fail if you invest only the minimum.

Lesson Two: You must listen to people but also discern between good and bad advice.

Who should you listen to?  

1. Listen to people who disagree with you. That’s hard because people who disagree with us tend to make us mad, especially if they have an irritating manner. Think about it though: If the only people you ever listen to are the ones who agree with you - your mind will never be stretched - your actions will never be challenged - and your course will never be altered - even though it might need to be.

2. Listen to those who love you. They have your best interest in mind. 

3. Listen to people who have demonstrated a pattern of wisdom. 

4 Listen to people who know God and love his Word.

God’s Word will give the wisdom needed to help you discern between good and bad advice.  At some point you must receive or reject the advice coming your way. There are a myriad of opinions on every subject and you must sort through them. Discernment happens when you seek God’s opinion more than the human consensus.

When you do fail however, what can you do? These suggestions might help.

1. Don’t react but respond. Failure doesn’t have to be final.

2. Don’t blame God or anyone else for the failures you experience. Joshua did the right thing by going to God immediately but did the wrong thing by blaming him for the failure.

3. Don’t beat yourself up but look up to God for forgiveness.

4. Get to the root cause and deal with it.

5. Don’t focus on what has been done but focus on what can be done now.

If you have failed, you are in good company. We all have! But you must get up and start running again. Run to Win!

Gaining Confidence

by Blake Cromwell

A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strode through his back yard, baseball cap in place and toting ball and bat. “I’m the greatest homerun hitter in the world,” he said with confidence. Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed. Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said to himself again, “I’m the greatest homerun hitter ever!” He swung at the ball again, and again he missed. He paused a moment to examine bat and ball carefully before throwing the ball into the air once more and saying, “I’m the greatest homerun hitter who ever lived.” He swung the bat hard and again missed the ball.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “I am the greatest pitcher in the world!”

Unlike the boy who “missed the ball” and turned failure into success, we often take “missing the ball” as a severe blow to our self-confidence. More often then not, we become fearful when faced with failure and allow the circumstances to rob us of our spirit.

Our lack of confidence affects how we view ourselves and the challenges we face. If you are tired of being fearful, let me assure you that you can learn how to capture the confidence our Lord. He was confident as He faced the challenges of life and He promises to make His Followers as bold and “confident as lions.”

We see this confidence when we study the people of God. After the crucifixion the Disciples of Jesus were whimpering and fearful men, but when the resurrection occurred these same men were strangely different. Instead of hiding, now they were “going where no man had gone before.” Once afraid in the garden to be counted with Christ, now they were willing to risk everything for Him. So real was their confidence, they were fearless even when martyred for their faith.

In the story of Moses and the Children of Israel, we see how God gave His people great confidence. Israel had been in slavery in Egypt for over four hundred years and they had learned to bow their eyes in submission. Their will had long been surrendered to the stern orders of their masters. All personal pride, security and confidence had been crushed out of God’s people. They were slaves — broken, defeated and insecure around their Egyptian masters.

But when God visited Egypt with the Ten Miracles the browbeaten Israelite slaves were strangely transformed into God’s confident people. They suddenly knew God could do anything. Since He overthrew the Egyptians they were confident that whatever they would face in the future God would be with them.

The key to the transformation of the Disciples and the Israelites was that both groups meet with an All Powerful God. The Disciples saw and spoke with a resurrected Lord. The Israelites had the presence of God in the center of their camp and were made confident by the visible evidences that God was with them.

As the Prophet Daniel declares, “They that know their God shall be strong and confident doing exploits.” A natural by-product of communion with God is an inner boldness. The last promise made to the Followers of Christ is that they would receive the Holy Spirit and He would fill them with confidence and power to be witnesses for Christ.

The Pastors in the Kings County would love to minister to you this weekend the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Just remember, “Those that wait upon the Lord shall have renewed strength.” Why not gather with us and others this weekend in a church, waiting upon the Father to send us our Helper, the Holy Spirit.

Mercy

by Blake Cromwell

Most of us have seen the Steven Spielberg movie Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and remember the golden Ark of the Covenant that Indiana discovered. Near the end of the movie the Nazis attempt to unlock the power of the Ark and make a deadly mistake. They looked into the Ark in hopes of understanding it’s great power. But when they slid the Mercy Seat off the Ark (the Mercy Seat is the lid of the Ark of the Covenant), fire came from it and destroyed all who were looking on.

Believe it or not, the movie isn’t that far from what actually happened in the Old Testament when a group of men slid the Mercy Seat off the Ark to look inside. When they did, God became very angry and struck down over fifty thousand men. Why? Because judgment falls when the Mercy Seat is removed from the Ark. You see, God would look down upon the Ark of the Covenant constantly because it was the representation of His presence on the Earth. Inside the Ark were contained, among other items, the Ten Commandments (remember Moses’ stone tablets?). The Ten Commandments were the Law of God. The Law represents judgment. This is why the Mercy Seat covered the Ark, because God wanted His mercy to cover judgment. So when the Mercy Seat was removed, God looked down and saw only the Law, and we ALL stand guilty before God’s Law.

God’s plan is that mercy would cover judgment. That is why God sent Jesus, the ultimate expression of mercy, to the world. Christ is the Mercy Seat for everyone who has placed their confidence in Him as Savior and Lord.

When I was seven years old I learned my first lesson on mercy. It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the scene in Indiana Jones or the story of the Ark of the Covenant in the Bible. Neither was it from a Sunday school teacher or a pastor. I learned mercy from the clerk at my local Soda Fountain. That lesson has stayed with me to this day and helps me understand God’s mercy.

My dad would give his three sons thirty-five cents every Saturday. With that huge allowance we would buy an ice cream for a dime and then go to the school matinee for a quarter.

One hot summer day my brothers and I ran to the local Thrifty’s store. I got my regular, one scoop of vanilla and one scoop of strawberry. As I left the store I bumped my arm and dropped both scoops on the hot sidewalk.

My heart melted as I watched my ice cream do the same. In the middle of my pain I heard a knock on the store window and the clerk beckoned me back in. There she mercifully gave me two scoops for free.

That’s mercy – two scoops for free. I realize that this definition of mercy may not be the most profound, but I must admit it has comforted me many times. When I have fallen and am feeling bad I try to remember that God has also given me two scoops for free. He’s covered me with His Mercy Seat, Christ.

If you are feeling beat up by failure or personal sin let me encourage you to learn more about the Mercy Seat of Christ. The pastors in the Kings County can guide you to the Mercy Seat.

Dealing with Warts

by Blake Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell addressed the famous French painter, Peter Lely, declaring: “I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all, but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts and all; otherwise I never will pay a farthing for it.”

Cromwell’s words contrast with the common attitude in all of us to be real but not too real. Too often Biographers (especially biographers of Christians) reveal only the shinning highlights and accomplishments while leaving out the valleys of failure and discouragement that are normal to every life.

In contrast to this, the Bible is the most honest of all books. It reveals the true nature of man, “warts and all.” There is no sugar coating the failures of those who God used to do great things. I have always found it encouraging to read of weak men who became strong through God’s grace and patience.

In the book of Proverbs it says, “A good man will fall seven times and rise up again.” The Bible is very clear that life isn’t always victory to victory rather it is “three steps forward and two back.”

The Bible is realistic and it encourages us to be realistic about others and ourselves. If you beat yourself up emotionally and won’t forgive yourself for failure maybe you have an unrealistic view of man. Maybe you should take another look at God’s Book on humanity. The Bible doesn’t see man as a demon or as a deity. No, man is created in God’s likeness and has great capacity for good or evil. He needs a Savior because he is imperfect and needs saving.

A good Bible search reveals the ups and downs of those who God used. Noah after building an ark and being delivered from the flood fell to the temptation of drunkenness. Moses lost his temper and murdered a man. Adam and Eve took a perfect marriage and turned it into a nightmare. Peter the Apostle revealed his racial hatred and even lied about knowing Jesus Christ.

The question is, “Did God reject any of those who fell?” No, all those who sought God have been forgiven and found grace to be different. All of the men and women of the Bible are examples of God’s forgiving grace.

Of course, there are some who use forgiveness as an excuse to never change. They call themselves Christians but they are not striving to be like Christ. The Bible calls that hypocrisy. God’s forgiveness is not provided as an excuse to sin. His forgiveness is there if we sin as we attempt to be godly.

The great encouragement to all sincere people who are wanting to be Christ-like yet find themselves once again in the pit of failure is that God sees you, “warts and all’ and still loves you. Father God isn’t discouraged with you and you have not shocked Him by your pitfalls. He desires that you would bring yourself to Him, confess your need for Him, and trust Him to transform you into the image of His Son.

Our change will happen but probably not as fast as we and others we would like. Don’t give up because of failure, reach up to His forgiving grace and begin again. This weekend why not take another step forward and attend a church in the Kings County.