Preface
A Brief Study of Job 14: 1
Whether an individual is in a loving relationship with God or not, just being human in this life will guarantee that each of us will experience failure and disappointments. The outcome of such a reality forces every one of us to accept the fact that to fail from time to time is only human, but to be a “failure” is when we are defeated by failure, refusing to rise and try again.
This blog post is about ways in which each of us may learn invaluable life lessons and virtues from our failures and become healthy and whole human beings.
Life is Full of Trouble
Job 14:1 says, “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” This verse is nondiscriminatory in that it doesn’t say “unbelievers” or “the ungodly.” It says man is born of woman which implies everyone. Life is full of trouble, even for those who belong to God through faith in Christ. Faithful followers are to expect it. This means God does not promise life without problems, sorrow, and, yes, failure, just because we believe in Him.
When we feel failure comes against us, what is our initial response? Do you deny it or run from it, like many, just give up? Even while we are securely abiding in complete love, faith, and devotion to God, we can fall and will fall.
We are God’s workmanship, meaning that in Christ, God will not abandon us even in our failures, but He shall complete the spiritual work within us in order to deliver us all to ultimate victory.[Ephesians 2:10] The blessedness of being in Christ is that we are never alone in our experiences even when we feel that we are!
We must keep our eyes on our Savior, following and obeying Him and laying aside the sin that inevitably leads to spiritual failure, as Letter of Hebrews 12:1 reminds us, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
God has marked out a course for each of us, and sometimes that course includes failure. But when we cling to the Savior, even our failures can be turned into successes by the One who controls all things and who strengthens us in our weakness. Philippians 4:11-13
Quote: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” -Francis Chan
Life Lessons We Can Learn From Failure
Some may have remembered the Saturday morning cartoon, the Road Runner show that was produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons between 1949 and 1964. The two major characters were Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner.
Wile E. Coyote is famous for his endless pursuit of the Road Runner, a fast and elusive bird. He often uses elaborate and absurd gadgets from the Acme Corporation, but they always backfire on him. He also suffers from bad luck, gravity, and his own mistakes.
Some possible life lessons that human beings can learn from Wile E. Coyote are:
- Persistence pays off. Wile E. Coyote never gives up on his goal, no matter how many times he fails or gets hurt. He always comes up with a new plan and tries again. The lesson that we may learn from this is we can learn to keep trying and refuse to let any setbacks discourage us.
- Learn from your failures. Wile E. Coyote often repeats the same mistakes or ignores the apparent flaws in his schemes. He does not seem to learn from his failures or adapt his strategies. The lesson that we may learn from our failures is to become more reflective and analytical while searching and using feedback and reliable data in an effort to improve our efforts.
- Be creative and innovative. Wile E. Coyote shows a lot of creativity and innovation in his attempts to catch the Road Runner. He uses various gadgets, traps, disguises, and tricks to outsmart his opponent. The lesson that we may learn from this is for us to begin to think outside of the box of normalcy exploring radical new possibilities.
- Be realistic and prepared. Wile E. Coyote often overestimates his abilities or underestimates the challenges he faces. He does not plan or anticipate the consequences of his actions. In this section, we all may learn to become more realistic and better prepared, while considering all of the hidden risks and benefits of the decisions that we make.
- Enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Wile E. Coyote seems obsessed with catching the Road Runner, but he never succeeds. He does not seem to enjoy the process or have any other purpose in life. The last potential life lesson for us to consider is to purposefully enjoy this life’s journey, not just the end game result, while having a balance between realistic goals and our emotional stability.
Quote: “Those who have failed miserably are often the first to see God’s formula for success.”
-Erwin Lutzer
What Does Success Look Like Biblically?
The Biblical definition of success is diametrically opposite to what is the world’s standards. Success in the Holy Scriptures is walking peacefully with God according to His divine design. It entails loving Him while demonstrating that love by serving Him with one’s entire being and serving one’s neighbor as yourself.
Furthermore, Godly success is more about the inner spiritual process of regeneration which forges a deep relationship with our Creator through our union with Christ our Lord and Savior. All of the fringe benefits our this spiritual union are manifested through the ministry of the Holy Spirit within the life of the faithful follower.
Quote: “If our identity is in our work, rather than Christ, success will go to our head, and failure will go to our hearts.” -Tim Keller
Some Additional Lessons and Virtues Obtained By Our Failures
In closing, many experts in the areas of social sciences, business, philosophy, and theology have compiled a short listing of some invaluable life lessons and virtues that empowers us in our failure as opposed to disabling us.
In our failure, we learn resiliency, humility, flexibility, motivation, and the necessity of becoming a lifelong learner. If we are indeed walking by faith and not by sight, we will continue to trust the direction which God has for each of us.
He knows us better than ourselves and has marked out a course for each of us to travel, which will sometimes permit us to encounter failure. But when we cling to the Savior, even our failures can be turned into successes by the One who controls all things and who strengthens us in our weakness. Philippians 4:11-13
Quote: “Success is on the same road as failure, success is just a little further down the Road.” -Jack Hyles
Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzo
