Sermon 2/11/2018
Most of us have heard the saying, “No great success was ever achieved without failure,” yet we still hate to fail, and avoid it at every cost. Failure is never a good feeling, especially when your opposition are those who dislike you and constantly reminding you, “Hey, you failed.” Even more so, they take it upon themselves to tell others about your failures. Such individuals truly enjoy seeing you fall and make it their life’s mission to celebrate the failures of others. It makes them happy. I’d rather deprive them of such joy and will remain standing.
Recently, a friend of mine mentioned that a group of unhappy parishioners were sitting around a dinner table and that I was the topic of discussion. I missed that invitation, nonetheless, it was surely kind of them to choose me certain church projects as “table talk.” Apparently to this dinner group, I’ve failed.
I could have easily been upset at such an accusation, thinking Pharisees – after all this hard work, they attempted to discredit me and those who truly put their heart and soul into the church and its projects. I pondered over the fact of letting them know that the Seniors Residence is actually not a failure rather a success. After I prayed, I waited patiently for God’s direction. I then felt comforted knowing that these projects ARE big achievements; the Lord blesses us and guides us on our mission. Regardless, whether they felt they were right, I will never feel bad about failing. Anybody who does something new or difficult could fail, for failure is how we learn to master our skills.
My wife is a musician and gives violin lessons. I see how her younger students rehearse, work hard and tirelessly. What is rehearsal? It is a controlled failure. During practice, their mistakes lead to skills learned and these young musicians patiently adjust their hands and body, and recognize mistakes in order to evolve. They master their skills by practicing the piece over and over again. Children possess a lot of patience, for they have a dream and decide to achieve it. If they can do it, I too, can do it! We each learn to adjust and move forward. Edison tried thousands of times and eventually created the light bulb. He stated, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
When people fail they learn what won’t work and alter or tweak and try it again. Life achievement never exists for those who fear failure. If we’ve never felt pain, never struggled, never felt sadness, never made a mistake or have never been discouraged, rejected, or ever in trouble, then we’ve never walked through the fire with desperation. At which point we call out to God, “Help me! Where are you? I need you now!” And He replies, “I am right here, next to you, and have always been here.”
Place your trust in God and ask Him for help. Feel strong and motivated knowing that He is with us and hears our cries, as He is here to rescue and comfort. Relying on God is not a sign of weakness rather a sign of strong faith. He won’t do the work for us, yet He will guide us and correct us, as does the music teacher with her students. Why? Because He wants for us to move beyond our failures and become capable of choosing what we want to do in life.
With each of our own experiences, we are now able to see problems as challenging opportunities, realizing that real failures occur when we give up. Remind yourselves this: from now on, I will give myself permission to fail, with permission to excel. Let us push our limits and continue to improve ourselves. Time is be better spent building up our legacies rather than tearing others down.
Remarkable projects have been accomplished in this church due to the proper attitude and trust in God. Join in or jump ship.
