Failures - Perseverance and Godly Character
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:36 (NIV)
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He was born in 1809 to impoverished parents. He did not have a good start to life and was not afforded the privilege of formal schooling. This did not stop him from teaching himself law and becoming a lawyer in 1837. Lincoln endured many failures in life. He failed at a business venture, leaving him with heavy debt that took years to repay. He lost his first job at twenty-two and was defeated in several bids for political office between 1832 and 1858. The stress of his earlier failures caused him to become deeply depressed.
Despite these failures, Lincoln never gave up. He persisted in his pursuit of a political career and finally became president of the United States at the age of fifty-one. Historians believe Lincoln developed the character needed for his presidency through the lessons he learned from his failures. Lincoln became one of the most successful presidents of the United States. He led the nation during a time of civil war, showing tremendous leadership. One of his greatest achievements was the abolition of slavery across the United States.
Noble Instruments
When we experience failure, we can so easily be consumed by the events that led to our failure or by damage control. We are consumed with the “Why’s” and not the “What’s.” We ask, “Why God?” Instead of “What do You want me to learn from my failures? What do You want to produce in me? In his letter to the Romans, this is what Paul says,
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4(NIV)
Paul did not see our suffering or our failures as meaningless. He saw that when we ask the “What” questions, God will produce perseverance in us. Perseverance is the fuel we need to carry on with determination and not give up. As we persevere and look to God for His wisdom, He will develop His Godly character in us. This is what gives us hope. The kind of hope that does not disappoint because we know that God’s eternal love for us has been poured out into our hearts by His Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). His eternal love is what will help us to yield to Him so that we can be set apart as noble instruments, ready for every good work (2 Timothy 2:20-21).
So let us persevere, ready to receive God’s promise. Ready, just like Abraham Lincoln, to do great things that will change the course of history.
One of the reasons failure can be so crushing is that we set goals of success, instead of improvement and learning. Arthur C. Brooks
Reflection:
Will you allow God to produce His Godly character in you?
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I give you my failures. Help me not to focus on the things I have no control over. Help me to look to You so that You can develop perseverance and Your Godly character in me. As I do this, fill me with Your hope that does not disappoint. Use me as Your noble instrument. In Jesus’ name, amen.
