Returning to Your Failure

RETURNING TO YOUR FAILURE

"But Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word, I will let down the net.'" Luke 5:6

There are times in all of our lives when we experience failure. When we do, we can either learn from it or become bitter and hard of heart because of it. Yesterday I shared about the experience that we went through when we lost our business. It was a very humiliating and embarrassing time for us, and it was especially hard on our pride. But looking back I can see how God used that situation in our lives to teach us so many wonderful lessons that helped to grow us closer to Him and each other.

I have often hear people say when facing difficulty, "I could have never made it through ________ without Jesus!" That is so true, my friend.
Listen to what Dr. Henry Blackaby writes about failure:

"No one knows how to help you in your times of failure as Jesus does! He will not overlook your shortcoming or simply encourage you to do better the next time. He will give you victory in the midst of your failure.

Peter had fished all night without success. His was not just a meager catch; he had caught NOTHING, even though he was a skilled fisherman.
Jesus could have said, 'Peter, don't worry about your empty net. You will soon be in a different business anyway.' Instead, Jesus told him to launch into the deep and to cast out his nets for a catch. How bumbling it must have been for Peter! Here was a carpenter telling this outspoken fisherman how to fish!

Jesus often gets your undivided attention when you fail. He sometimes take you back to your place of defeat in order to build something good in your life. You many assume He must not want you to continue because you have failed so miserably in your attempt. Perhaps your problem was that you relied on your own strength instead of the Master's. Maybe you failed in a relationship. Jesus will not allow you to abandon it; He will help you learn from your failure and experience the difference He can make when He guides your relationships. When you try in God's strength, you may discover that success is indeed within your grasp. If you have recently experienced failure, you may be on the brink of receiving a profound revelation from God." - from Experiencing God - The Devotional (Broadman & Holman)

What is God wanting to teach you today from the failure you have experienced in your life?

Great quote: God has given a Christian such power that he can turn afflictions into mercies, can turn darkness into light. If a man had the power that Christ had, when the water pots were filled, he could by a word turn the water into wine. If you who have nothing but water to drink had the power to turn it into wine, then you might be contented; certainly a Christian has received this power from God, to work thus miraculously.

It is the nature of grace to turn water into wine, that is, to turn the water of your affliction, into the wine of heavenly consolation.
Jeremiah Burroughs