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Mistakes and Failure

Once a mistake or failure is past you, move on. Focus on the next task at hand, and at giving it your absolute best. Consider what you might have learned for how you might improve and grow, so that your direction is looking forward not just looking back. Real life and real living comes with risks, challenges and momentary failures — but these are expected along the path to victory.

Life has taught me that my victory is assured — I just need to keep pressing forward instead of letting the past distract me. There is no victory in sitting still and looking back — we may do that on our dying day, and we should consider that a motivation to make today count. The victory is in refusing defeat in THIS moment, and pressing on.

Yesterday, I sat by myself at Ricky’s drive thru eating my hotdogs, deep in thought over the million choices and responsibilities that were running through my head. A young man approached me and asked if I could help him, and I checked my wallet almost mindlessly and saw that I had no money to give him. In fact, I began my reply to him without even coming out of my dazed condition — but I awoke from my daydreaming to see the opportunity to give him kindness and love. We went to the counter together and ordered him some food, exchanged names and I found out that he has a Muslim friend with a similar name as me. We laughed and shook hands and after a while went out own ways. I hope that I might get to talk with Floyd again sometime soon — his moment of need meeting with my ability to show him kindness was a special blessing that pulled me out of a lot of internal thinking to consider what I could actually DO at that moment to make a difference.

I share this because I can get stuck in a mindset that produces a lot of thinking, or even a lot of talking — but the DOING is what matters. Floyd and I were both facing challenges before our encounter, but he ACTED on asking for help, and I ACTED on what I could do. Together, we both helped each other in a wonderful way. He could have seen differences in my skin, clothes, etc. and assumed me an enemy (or I could have done the same), and we both would have missed out. We could have seen each other as opponents, trying to “get something” from each other — and we would have both missed it.

I wonder who I will get to play alongside in life’s tennis match today? I wonder how we will each get to enjoy points won (and points lost) as a part of that great victory we are living through. I wonder how many useless worries about challenges or failure will fall away to be replaced by a faith that victory is inevitable.

Psalms 37:23-40 NLT
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.
The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.
Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever.
For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die.
The godly will possess the land and will live there forever.
The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong.
They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path.
The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, looking for an excuse to kill them.
But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.
Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.
I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!
Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace. [38] But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future.
The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble.
The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.

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Job’s “One Great Story”

I listened to a wonderful podcast called Earbender by my friend Alexi Muzik yesterday where Rozette, a successful Pop Vocal Coach on Tiktok and InstaGram, described at the end of the interview her “one great story”. It was such an inspiring story full of doors flinging open unexpectedly and other people playing a crucial part in her growth and development as an artist. I commented that “I love when doors open for sweet people by the generosity of others around them — not only by their own talent. It helps build a humility that is so necessary in order to even begin trying to handle true success or fame.”

Success, fame and honor has another side to it that can be just as devastating to a life as loss. Just look at the number of lives destroyed by “easy come easy go” riches, success and fame. Look at the number of sports stars who can thrive on the field of competition, but whose personal lives are destroyed by what grows out of their success. Look at the number of celebrities who find themselves even more lonely, trapped, isolated and depressed even while their fame has them “on to of the world”.

But imagine the crash, to fall from the top of a building versus from the top of a few steps!

The contrast in the chapters of Job 27 and Job 28 should be humbling to any of us who have experienced success, favor, honor or fame in our lives. Chapter 27 talks about how it feels to live a life kissed by the favor of the Lord. While chapter 28 talks about a life darkened by strife, grief and depression.

Those who think that being religious and doing religious things guarantees them only success, honor and fame in this life are utter fools. And many only see religious traditions, theology and dogma as a way of improving their own standing — a narcissistic means of self worship (with God as a supporting cast in their own hero story). This is not worship or faith, but is hypocrisy, self righteousness, sin.

Even those who have truly humbled themselves before God, who know Him and walk with Him, and who are anointed by the Holy Spirit of the Living God are not immune to suffering, grief, loss, oppression, and trials in this life. In fact, Jesus tells the believer to redirect these things.

This verse in chapter 28 sticks out for me:

I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.
Job 30:15 NLT

This verse isn’t a statement from before Job ever walked in the favor of God. It isn’t like all was bad before Job made a decision for God and then all was wonderful afterwards — just like God wasn’t only angry and vengeful before the cross and isn’t only peace love and happiness after the cross — and just like our lives aren’t going to be all health, wealth and prosperity once we start “giving money to the preacher man”.

No doubt, there is so much that is gained in a life lived drawing close to the Lord. And the favor and blessing of the Lord is very real. But there is also a cost, and that cost is wonderful. Because that cost refutes the enemies claims that we love God only because He is good to us.

God is indeed very good to us. But only loving or hating Him for whether He is good or bad to us is very shallow, and isn’t about Him but is about us. Going through a season where we are hurting and God doesn’t “fix it” to what we want just because we pray over and over for it in various ways as we try to make sense of things like sickness, suffering, injustice, etc. — it stretches our faith to break through the ground and display the sapling to the world around us of a very real and peculiar faith. And it happens again when a new layer of bark is added. And again when a new branch springs forth. And again when bloom and fruit come forth.

We don’t have to pretend that everything is good if it isn’t. We don’t have to stick it up and take it until we make it. We don’t have to be in the height of our one greatest story to be content and at peace. We don’t even have to be strong.

Wherever we are today, I hope that humility will accompany us through the mountaintops and that peace will accompany us through the valley. And that even in our darkest and weakest hour, we might speak our piece, cry out to God, and then be quiet — for the glory of God. Amen.

Check out Ear Bender on Amazon Music.
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e75409be-87d9-45e1-9206-9b6b3fa877be/ear-bender?ref=dm_sh_o2Qic3UuUfK2BbrX5h6Pp5LLI