Failure

 

Have you failed? More than once? I certainly have, we all have.

Thomas Edison made many attempts at inventing a working lightbulb with setback after setback. Yet he was confident he hadn’t failed even once. He had simply found ten thousand ways not to make a lightbulb. That’s a great perspective when you face adversity. In the effort toward any worthwhile goal, failure has to be considered part of the process. Failure in achieving a particular result isn’t really failure if it’s another step on the way toward the goal. It can be a vital part of the journey.

Until we can accept failure as part of the process our growth and accomplishments are limited.

*Taken from a page in the book “Uncommon Life Daily Challenge” by Tony Dungy

Adversity

 

Any discussion of adversity is not complete without addressing the faith opportunity that adversity presents.  The only appropriate response to the challenges of life is a faithful reliance on God.  Adversity is part of God’s plan for us and the “Why” is usually something we do not understand.  Suffering is often a part of life.  Obviously, the degree of suffering may vary, but we do suffer, and that too is a part of God’s plan.  A true dependence upon God should be our focus when facing adversity, suffering and pain.  God’s blessing will see us through, and we will be stronger and wiser because of the experience.

When we suffer, we can easily get bogged down with the “why” question.  Why is this happening?  But we may never know the why.  God has not promised to tell us the why.  We can ask Him but He may not tell us.  He is more concerned with our future than our past, with our response to the suffering rather than the cause of our suffering.

Jeff Wells

Pastor, WoodsEdge Community Church