Stepping Stones to Success

CBN.com -- We all fail from time to time. Mistakes will happen. But how should we handle them? 

Alexander Pope once said, "To err is human, to forgive divine." Now there's a thought. 

When others offend us, we need to forgive them. When we make mistakes, we need to forgive ourselves. We should move on from that vantage point and seek to learn from it. If our attitudes are right, then these situations can become valuable life lessons instead of crippling defeats. 

In his book Failing Forward, John Maxwell mentions five rules we need to remember: 

1. You will learn lessons. 
2. There are no mistakes - only lessons. 
3. A lesson is repeated until it is learned. 
4. If you don't learn the easy lessons, they get harder. 
5. You will know you have learned a lesson when your actions change. 

Failure is not something we need to feel guilty about or dread. It is a part of life. It brings a lesson to be learned. God desires that we grow from these times of disappointments. 

Hebrews chapter 12 talks about God's desire to teach us. In verse five and six, God speaks about not losing heart. His desire is for us to understand that He loves us even when we fail:

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and he punishes everyone He accepts as a son." (Hebrews 12:5-6, NIV)

God calls us His sons and daughters. He loves us and does not want us to continue doing wrong. Then in verse 11, God reminds us of the joy of coming into a new level with Him:

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11, NIV) 

Each time we fail and learn from it, we are building a "tower to success." We can compare failures to stones. As we put them on top of each other, we are showing God we want to build instead of quit. Success will be ours if we do not become defeated and give up. 

The choice is ours to make. We can be a failure or a success. The Bible calls us "overcomers." Let God make us into pillars for His temple, someone He can depend on. 

"All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write my God's name on them, and they will be citizens in the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And they will have my new name inscribed upon them." (Revelations 3:12, The Book) 

Steps to Peace with God

Martha welcomes your responses at dvtd2hm1@aol.com

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