Lessons from setbacks!
Verse for Today: Tuesday, November 13,
2012
Joshua 7:7 – And Joshua said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did
You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of
the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other
side of the Jordan!
Past victory is often
forgotten at the time of failures. These setbacks send powerful psychological
blow to God’s people and often lead them into despondency. But God wants the
intoxication of praise at the time of victory to lead His people even through
failures and teach them lessons. Failure is not a time to get depressed, but to
lead us to introspection. We must understand that one victory in one situation
is no guarantee that we will be perpetually victorious. Victory demands that we
rely on the Lord at all times. One victory doesn’t mean that we take the future
battles for granted. Our failures are often because we defeat ourselves. Overconfidence
is a byproduct of our dependence on our own strength and past experience. God
wants us to depend on Him irrespective of past victories. Each battle has to be
won in our trust in the strength of our God and not in self confidence. Victory
in battles demands continuous surrender to the Lord. Our victory has to be the
Lord’s victory through us as His instruments. Setbacks necessitate
reexamination of all our instruments, to make sure that they are spiritual and
not of the flesh. If we use instruments of selfishness and disobedience, we are
bound to lose. If we want to be victorious, we must declare ourselves
incompetent and unworthy. If we encounter failure, we must take a look at our track
record of self will, overconfidence, pride, arrogance and disobedience. If we
confess our lack of trust and disobedience, God will give us victory in our
battles. One failure should not tempt us to condemn the pathway that our Lord
has made us to walk so far, but to get back to walk worthy of the call with
which we are called. We must not forget the fact that disobedience can cause
even Joshua, Abraham or Jacob to taste failure.
Hello soldier, have you
experienced failure in your walk lately? Perhaps you never expected to taste
failure. Perhaps you thought God will help you to ride on the chariot of
victory perpetually! Perhaps in your spiritual enthusiasm, you would have
forgotten that a loving Father will also chastise His beloved children by
permitting setbacks in life. It is important to realize that God uses failure
sometimes to teach His children valuable lessons in life. If you have tasted
failure in your job situation, business, relationships, family life, church
life or in personal life of devotion, it is time to examine the possible
reasons for it. This is not the time to get frustrated, but to find the reasons
for the setback and how to straighten out your life. It is time to renew your
commitment and devotion to the Lord. It is an opportunity to check out any
element of rebellion, disobedience, overconfidence, pride and lack of trust in
your life. God expects brokenness in your life so that He can rebuild you His
way. You need to cry before God and confess
the failures in your personal life. But it should not sink you into
frustration. It is important to guard your mind and tongue not to utter
unfortunate expression as Joshua did. Jacob had such frustrating words in His
mouth and he lived in depression for over thirteen years while God was
preparing his situation to lead him to victory. Israel’s setback at Ai speaks
to us loudly about the failures which emerge in our lives if we deviate from
the path of obedience and surrender. Today we are challenged to look into our hearts
and straighten out our lives rather than sink deep into frustration. We are
challenged to move from failure and setback to victory and jubilation by
recommitting ourselves. God wants confession and repentance from us before He
allows victory again in our lives. When we deal with disobedience in our lives,
God will work in us to march forward from victory to victory.
1 John 5:4 – This is the
victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Thought for Today
God uses our setbacks
in life to teach us lessons in obedience, trust, commitment and surrender so
that we can march from failures to victory.
______________________________
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