Tuesday, February 19, 2013 -- Turning From Failure

A

There is a strong desire in us to succeed! To win! To excel! To be successful! Yet often we feel like a failure. As we said yesterday, sometimes we fail because we set our goals too high and compare ourselves with others. Today we want to look at another reason why we fail.

This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV)

The second kind of failure we face is the failure that comes from sin. We fail to measure up to the deep-down goodness of our lives. We settle for less than we could be. We wallow in resentments. We hold grudges. We cling to unhealthy ways of living. We live according to our own plan instead of God’s plan. We often embrace violence instead of peace, selfishness instead of love, and despair instead of hope. Sin walks through our lives like an accepted guest. This is the failure we must find the courage to confront.

In the Bible, Paul describes his battle with this kind of failure: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! (Romans 7:21-24a NIV)

We do wrong and respond wrongly. God sees and God knows exactly what we are doing and why we are failing. God invites us to leave the sinful actions and the brokenness underneath those actions at the cross of Jesus. God forgives us when we confess our failures, ask for forgiveness, and turn away from the wrong attitudes and behaviours. God promises to set us on a new and living way. God gives us power to let go of grievances against others and to leave them in His hands. God pours out grace so we can live in healing rather than continuing to cope with woundedness. God gives us power to make choices to say “NO” to the demands of destructive voices. God empowers us to choose peace instead of violence in word or action when we are wronged, unselfish generosity in the face of greed, and hope in a place of challenge.

But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done. “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, .... I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live! (Ezekiel 18:21-23 and 31-32 NLT)

Today is a good day to turn away from our own sinful independence and self-centered ways of reacting. Today is the right time to choose to trust God’s power and healing to build a new way of success and satisfaction in our life.