Failure is defined by Your Dictionary as: the act of falling short of the goal, or a person who hasn’t achieved what they set out to.
It is important to state from the onset that the word failure does not exist in God’s vocabulary. When Mary thought that the virgin birth was impossible the Angel Gabriel told her in Lk. 1:37 that, ‘…with God nothing will be impossible.’
Years ago when I sensed God’s call into Ministry, the process seemed impossible and I almost ‘chickened out’! This was especially so because many of my acquaintances thought that I was making a terrible mistake in changing course from my primary area of training. One day as I was on a journey, many questions and thoughts went back and forth in my mind. Finally, I asked God why He was making me go through such a path that I knew nothing about and which wasn’t even agreeable to most around me! In the stillness of my heart, I heard this question – ‘have you ever known Me to have a record of failure?’ Like Job of old I began to stumble over my words as I confessed and repented of my lack of confidence in His leading! I’m grateful to Him because He understands us so well and even in our most confused moments He redirects us to the right path as He says in Psalm 32:8:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.
God always means what He says, and says what He means. He is faithful to fulfil His promises irrespective of the circumstances. Even when things seem to be so ‘out of joint’, we must remember that God will fulfil His word no matter how impossible it may be from the human perspective. Someone once rightly said that; ‘what God can do in a second no man can do in a lifetime.’ Today I can look back, having gone through many amazing experiences with Him and confirm the words He told me those years ago, that He has no record of failure. We see an example of this with His people, Israel, who had an impossible task of taking possession of, and settling in the promised land. In the end, His word tells us in Josh. 21:43-45 that:
So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
In case you’re at that point where you feel that God has failed you for whatever reason, I’d like to assure you that He hasn’t! His thoughts, ways and timing are different from ours. In His time everything will line up with His will and work out for your good.
Prayer
Father, please help us to internalise and be assured of the fact that You never fail. We thank You that even though we don’t always see the total picture, in Your time all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle will fall into place.
