Failure

August 22, 2017 | By Chuck

Something none of us enjoy but all of us experience is failure. I can't count the many failures I've experienced over the years. There have been failures in school, failures in sports, failures with friends and even failures as a husband, dad and Christian. The tough thing is these failures continue to stack up and work negatively against us. Our self-esteem and confidence takes a hit with each failure. Some times our faith even takes a hit when we experience failure. So how do we continue to fall down and fail and continue to get up and be faithful? I think we have to remember the life of the apostle Paul when he was Saul. Saul was a church persecutor and even stood by giving his approval of Stephen being stoned to death. (Acts 7:57-60) Paul even referred to himself as the worst of all sinners. (I Tim.1:15) Of course, Saul was converted and became the apostle Paul who by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote most of the New Testament. So even Paul had some failures in his life. How did he cope with his past failures? How did he move on from his violent past and remain faithful to God? Paul dealt with his failures the same way we must today, by forgetting the past and maintaining focus on the ultimate goal of heaven. "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phil.3:13-14)