Wednesday, 3rd July, 2024
Bible Reading: Jeremiah 8:4 (NLT & NIV)
Memory Verse: Even if good people fall seven times, they will get back up. But when trouble strikes the wicked, that’s the end of them. Proverbs 24:16 (CEV)
Failure is an event and not a person. You must separate the two. There’s a difference. In Year 2000, a young lawyer, Barrack Obama contested for the first congressional district of Illnois and he lost gallantly because he got only one third of the vote. What if he had convinced himself that he was not called into politics, and that it was not his destiny. But he didn’t give up. He tried again the second time and won this time around. 8 years after that initial loss, he became the President of the United States of America. Now, only God knows how many successes have been buried prematurely because someone gave up just because something didn’t happen in its first instance. One event of failure, mistake, misunderstanding, shouldn’t disrupt your whole life. Something didn’t work out shouldn’t puncture your divine identity or you can’t be successful or you are not cut out for such. That’s a big mistake. Separate the event from the person. A sister once told me how she had to take the same examinations four different times before she could pass. It was Jack Ma, the president of Alibaba that said he learns more from his failures than his success. Jack Ma encourages others to embrace failure. He said, “If you want to be successful, learn from failure. Success is not about not making mistakes; it’s about correcting your mistakes.”
If you have failed many times and wish to quit, perhaps you need to learn from the incredible life story of Abraham Lincoln and how he sailed through. He was born into a modest family and faced defeat at all ends. He failed twice in business, lost the elections six times, and faced a severe breakdown. He had many instances where he could have accepted defeat and failure. But he did not give up. Through his imagination and persistence, he went on to become the greatest president. He lost his mother and tried his hand at business but became an utter failure. At one stage in life, Lincoln also lost his job and he decided to do law, but failed again. In 1835, he was to be married to his fiancé but she died which made him heartbroken. Finally, in 1860, he was elected as the President of the United States.
Quote: My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure – Abraham Lincoln.
Prophetic Decree: The stronghold of the foundational strongman of failure is broken over your life, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 5-8
