We all fail, from time to time, but how do we react when failure comes? Do we become discouraged or do we pick ourselves up and try again? The Holy Bible is the answer; it gives valuable insights into using failure as a springboard to success.
You can turn life's setbacks into a springboard for spiritual success!
While training at the Police Training Centre, I was running on the parade square when my feet became tangled and I felt myself falling. The concrete of the parade square, littered with loose bits of gravel and dirt, seemed to rise to meet me. For a moment, time hung suspended while my colleagues careened past me. But I was falling, and braced for the inevitable crash landing.
And then, with a flash, I remembered my instructor's cautionary words for such a moment: "Tuck and roll"! He had instructed us to not try to break a fall, but just "tuck" the elbow and shoulder, and roll through it.
I followed my instructor's advice, rolled through the fall, and I was surprised how quickly I was right-side up and back on my feet. I had saved myself from an ugly concrete burn and avoided nasty gravel cuts on my arms and elbows. I may have prevented a broken wrist. It was a powerful lesson that day on the parade square. There is a "right" way and a "wrong" way to fall! The right way saves one from unnecessary cuts, bruises and even serious injury.
In the arena of life, all of us will have setbacks and disappointments. Everyone will fail or fall in something eventually! "Failure," according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, springs from an original French root meaning "to fall". It refers to omission of occurrence or performance, lack of success or a falling short.
We all stumble sometimes, but, when we do, how do we deal with it? How do we handle setbacks in life without letting them crush our spirit?
Anyone who attempts anything will make mistakes. This is part of the learning process. Michael Jordan, the famous American basketball player, is reported to have said: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Political and military leaders also have recognised the importance of dealing with failure with a positive attitude. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, "Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts." And United States General George S. Patton was known to say that it is not how far you fall that matters, "it's how high you bounce when you hit bottom!"
I strongly believe God wants us to have the same attitude. No He does not wink at sin. He does not always exempt us from the consequences of our mistakes. But He does teach us to deal with problems positively. How can we make sure trials do not destroy us? How can we turn failure into a springboard to success?
When we drop the ball, make mistakes or suffer from problems, does God want us to hang our heads and feel like failures? Does He want us to slink away in self-pity? No! He wants us to focus on the future. He desires that we recognise the great potential He gives to those who are willing to submit to His will and Spirit.
Jesus told His disciples, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). He extended that calling to those yet unborn whom the Father would call through their testimony (John 17:20). A calling from God into His Truth and His Church is truly an awesome opportunity
God has big plans for us if we are willing to submit to His rule in our lives, and if we come to understand the purpose for problems and grow through God's own correction by asking Him to empower us through His Holy Spirit.
We will make mistakes. We will stumble and suffer in life. We will have problems, as long as we are in the flesh. But God tells us to face our trials and difficulties positively. In the end, it is not the setbacks that He is most concerned about…it is how well we bounce back!
