Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Failure at times will cause us to stop reaching for our goals. In life we will face disappointments and failures and the harsh reality of not succeeding. If we allow our feelings of despair to overwhelm us, they will stunt our growth as a believer. Let’s be honest, no one wants to fail. Do you know anyone that enjoys the way failure feels? However, with each failure there are lessons to be learned. My niece who is a sophomore in college called me one day because she was feeling a little down because her Grade Point Average was not where she thought it should be. She was still adjusting to college life and the tremendous independence that she now had. She discovered she had to work harder and study more. She soon realized she was in a different environment and high school was so much different than college. In high school she was an honor student and received numerous awards and accolades for being a brilliant student! She goes to a prestigious college, which she earned an academic scholarship to attend. She has a strong desire to be a Pathologist, working with Forensic Science (I am so glad God blesses us with different interests!) In my attempt to encourage her I shared with her Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. I shared with her that our lives are in God’s hands. At times our lives will take different paths that are totally unexpected to us. When we have faith in God we know that regardless of what comes in our lives, it is working together for our good. No, it is not always going to feel good and at times our faith will be challenged, but we cannot allow the enemy to get the advantage over us.
I furthered encouraged my niece that it is okay to feel unsure about the path we are traveling. We will never know the end result, only God knows what our future holds. We must take one day at a time, trusting God completely never doubting our ability to succeed in Him. I encouraged her to make daily affirmations using Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding, In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. In life it is certain that we will face many stumbling blocks. We can overcome if we turn those stumbling blocks into stepping stones. We can step over defeat, because we are more than conquerors though Him that loved us. We can step above our fear of failure because God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. We can step out in the midst of all the fiery darts Satan throws at us because we can quench those darts by putting on the shield of faith. My niece was encouraged and she like us will overcome the many challenges we will face in life as long as we continue to keep God first!
-Patricia
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