Success and Failure Blog

We all face failure in our lives at times; whether they are recurring fears, lost opportunities, possibly even moral failures.  One of mine is that I get nervous when speaking to groups when I feel like I’m being evaluated.  Then my breath gets short and my voice starts cracking.  I’m just not myself when that happens and I feel terrible afterwards.  It’s not like it happens all the time either.  In those situations I feel like Peter, when he walked on water and then began to sink when he got his eyes off Jesus.  I can hear Jesus saying…”Oh you of little faith”.

At those times…some of us start believing the enemy (satan).  He tells us that we’re worthless failures or that God does not care about us or even love us.  We tend to feel defeated and ready to give up and let the enemy win.  Though giving up and giving in to the lies of the enemy seems like the easy thing to do sometimes, is that what God wants us to do?

It’s hard to get up…especially when we try to do it on our own strength.  The good news is that we don’t have to do it on our own strength…we have a helper and that is Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  God does not want us to do anything on our might.  He does want us to take the initial step of faith, repent and then get up, however, He does not want us to do it on our own strength.  He wants us to give him our failures, fears and burdens and move forward.  Also, He does not want us to live in the past.  Many of us relive our failure a thousand times over and over in our thoughts.  We need to stop that.  The Bible says that we should take every thought captive into the obedience of Jesus Christ.  That means that He wants us to consciously cast away thoughts that do not come from Him.  We can’t prevent every thought from entering our minds, however, we have to make a decision on what to do with those thoughts.  Do we meditate on that bad thought or do we take that thought captive…do we bind it to a scripture and dismiss it?  Which route we chose is up to us.  Let’s choose right.

God wants us to get up when we experience failure or defeat.  Never ever is God saying to give in to defeat.  He is our biggest advocate who encourages us to get up because He is an overcomer and has already overcome this world. 

The Bible says…

 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:14-16

 “Though a righteous man falls seven times, He rises again.” Proverbs 24:16.   

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). Psalm 55:22

God wants us to get up.  The key to success is not the act of falling down but that act of getting back up.

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7

I wish that I could overcome some of my struggles in an instant, however, it’s more of a slow process most of the time.  Nevertheless, God wants us to be overcomers and He gave us all the tools to do that.  You might think that you will never overcome this illness, addition, fear, etc. in this life, but that is not what God says.  The Grace that saved us from sins consequences also provides us with the power to be overcomers and to live holy, righteous, successful lives.  It’s the lack of faith that is truly holding us back.  Jesus talked to his disciples many times about their lack of faith.  If we had the faith of just a mustard seed we could move mountains.  We could pray for the sick and they would be healed.

How do we get more faith?  We get it by spending more time in the word, in prayer and in thought with Jesus.  We get it by trusting Him when these situations come up and by surrendering our fears, our doubts, our past, our failure continually to him and giving him thanks for the victories.  We get it by little victories along the way when we step out in faith and trust God.  We get it by getting up one more time.  Let’s write down all that God blessed us with and read those blessings once a day for the next 30 days.  We need to train our minds toward God and rebuke the enemy who want us to live defeated lives.  Let’s start living a victorious life starting NOW!

Don’t give up on God because He has not given up on you.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!  You might feel that your sin is too big for God ever be able to forgive you.  That is a lie of the enemy.  God is not proud of our sins, however, He is always ready to receive us back if we repent and ask Him into our hearts.  You might say…I have sinned 500 times…I have done really bad things.  Repent, ask God to forgive you, and ask Jesus into your life…He is waiting.

Father, increase our faith so we may live the life you meant for us to live.  Amen!

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Psalm 46:1

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 

(Jesus said) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  John 16:33 

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:3-5 (believe that Jesus is God, the Word – John 1:1 -2 & 14)  

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Heaven) Revelation 2:7b 

Please pray for the people in Japan!!!

www.nuggetsofwisdom.us

… spread the Word

(Jesus said) I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day (the day you die) you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. John 14:18-20 

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation (or trial) has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 

(Jesus said) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33 

I sure needed this today. Thank you God!!!                                                                   

www.nuggetsofwisdom.us   

Key #1 to Happiness – A relationship with God

I believe that having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the most important key to finding happiness.

“In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore”.  Psalms 16:11 (NKJV)

Knowing the one who made you, who planned your every feature and personality trait, who saw every day of your life before the foundation of the world – knowing this one is truly the cornerstone and the foundation of happiness.

There are several reasons why we experience happiness through a relationship with God.  Through this relationship, we find our origin, purpose, and destiny, which is a prerequisite to happiness (Read Gen. 1; Eccl. 12:13 and Matt. 25: 46).

It’s part of our DNA and how we were made.

An iPhone without any applications just wouldn’t be the same device.

A bicycle is meant to have wheels, without which it won’t work

A car meant to have steering…without it, it will drive, however, it will not work at it’s potential.

As humans, we’re meant to have deep emotional connections with others, without which there will be a void in our lives that can’t be replaced by anything else.

A baby is meant to have a mom and a dad who loves and cares for them, without which the baby will grow into a person with psychological issues through much of their lives.

When we ignore our need for God, life does not seem to work correctly.  In the same way as the above examples, God made us to have relationship with Him.  In a sense, God completes us.  When we choose to ignore that relationship, we fight against nature and our purpose and therefore elude happiness.

The Bible also says…“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.
Phil 4:6-7 (NKJV)

“Happy are the people whose God is the LORD”!  Psalms 144:15 (NKJV)

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full”.  John 15:11 (NKJV)

Some people mistakenly believe that when we become Christians, we will not have any more problems.  The Bible clearly tells us that we will have trouble in this life.  The good news is that when we have a relationship with him, God becomes our great comforter in times of trouble.  Also check out my article on “Why do bad things happen to good people!”

”these things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33 (NKJV)

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”.  Psalms 73:25-26 (NKJV)

“Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life”.  Psalms 119:49-50 (NKJV)

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”.   Psalms 23:1-4 (NKJV)

For additional verses check out our article on “Comfort”.

The biggest reason to start a relationship with God through Jesus His Son, the one and only Savior Messiah, is not for happiness…that is just a by-product.  The biggest reason to accept Jesus as our savior is because He was the only One capable of paying our ransom.   There will be a judgment day.  On that day, we will all be judged for our sins.  He does not use a sliding scale but judges by his perfect standard.  There is only one way to have a perfect record…it’s not by being a good person (check out “Are you a good person” – A test), but to accept His Son, Jesus as your savior.  He has paid the price for our sins, however, we need to accept that gift in order to receive it.  Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, there is a peace and happiness that comes from knowing that regardless of what disappointments or losses we face here on earth, our eternity is secure.  This is a peace like no other…in good and in bad times.

How to find happiness – Daily Exercises:

Put the following exercises into your routine daily…even multiple times per day for the next two weeks.

• Pray to God to reveal himself to you (God answers prayer)
• Ask Jesus to come into your heart (read the articles on “Salvation” below and let us know if you made a decision for Christ)
• Get a Bible and start reading it daily
• Find a bible teaching church (see link below)
• Feel free to e-mail us with questions
• Sign up for our e-mail reminder as soon as a new key to happiness is published

For more on what it takes to be saved check out:

Salvation – Questions and answers

Salvation – What it takes to be saved

Who is Jesus

Repentance – Key 1 to Salvation

How to find a church

Are you a good person – A test

May God answer your prayers mightily and may you find true and lasting happiness – Amen!

Additional Resources

How to find Happiness Course – Never miss a lesson – Get notified via e-mail as soon as a new lesson is available!

How to find Happiness Introduction

How to find Happiness – Key #2 – Being Thankful

How to find Happiness – Key #3 – Learning How to forgive yourself

How to find Happiness – Key #4 – Learning How to forgive others

How to find Happiness - Key #5 – Living in the present