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Failure Isn’t Final—It’s Fragrant

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by Jeff Foerster

What is the fragrance of your failure?

Failure feels awful. Anxiety, panic, shame. What if I missed my deadline? What if I didn’t pay my bills on time or, worse yet, didn’t have the money because I spent it on impulse purchases? What if I got a bad grade on my test? What if I shared a secret I wasn’t supposed to or lost my temper with a loved one or a stranger? What if I broke my promise to God? Quite frankly, at our best, we’re still a mess. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). We all fail. Sometimes these are moral failings, sometimes these are mistakes, sometimes these are poor decisions rooted in some variety of fear.

As bad as it feels to fail, it feels even worse to admit failure. It’s a declaration that I’m not enough. I am not the captain of my ship nor the driver of my destiny. Circumstances and outcomes are not firmly within my control. My desire is to hide failure, even from myself, if it were possible (Garden of Eden, anyone)? But hiding is simply a place of darkness.

By admitting failure, I am presenting the facts before court and entering my weakness into evidence. I plead guilty. That’s a very vulnerable place to be. At that moment I have placed myself in the hands of a judge. Mercy or condemnation is coming, but in recognizing and admitting my failure, I have submitted control of the outcome. No defense, only an admission of weakness or guilt.

I would feel all alone in such a courtroom, but for this fact: I have a friend in Jesus, my Advocate before the Father!

We don’t enter into the presence of the Lord with shouts of victory and triumphant success. We enter through sorrow, through failure. When we fail, when we admit it, we enter into a position of humility. And that is a great place to be—a fragrant offering to God. It’s a place of mourning, of sadness. A place of blessing.

So, what is the fragrance of your failure?

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Change in the Making

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By Tom Chase

It’s funny … the older I get, the more reflective I guess I become. I find myself wanting to have lived well. And asking myself if I’ve done so. It can be really easy to get to the place where we come down pretty hard on ourselves. Maybe at times that is warranted — a simple kick in the pants to remind us who we are. However, when we dwell in that self- (or other-) inflicted perspective, that we will never measure up, it can be difficult to move in a positive direction. The great news is that God does not expect us to live in that environment. He is not the source of the condemnation. He does and will convict us, but He does not hold us down with our condemnation.

Romans 8:1 tells us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

In Christ, we do not stand condemned!!!

As Ephesians 1:2-14 tells us, in Him we are:

  • Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
  • Chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.
  • Predestined for adoption (to be his kids) by His pleasure and will.
  • Redeemed through His blood.
  • Forgiven of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
  • Grace-lavished people (recipients of God’s abundant grace).
  • Made an insider to the mystery of his will—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
  • Chosen for the praise of His glory.
  • Marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession

All this is to the praise of His glory! In addition, we can remind ourselves of this because He has reminded us that He is not through with us yet.

Philippians 1:6—“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

It is from this perspective that we can be freed to experience God’s changing power and live in the hope He has called us to.  The rest of chapter one of Ephesians tells us of that hope and the amazing power that is available to us.  If you would like, just read it and allow Him to heal the hurts that may be holding you back.

If music speaks to you, one more thing that may encourage you, like it does me, is this song by Addison Road:

“Change in the Making”

There’s a better version of me
That I can’t quite see
But things are gonna change
Right now I’m a total mess and
Right now I’m completely incomplete
But things are gonna change
‘Cause you’re not through with me yet

This is redemption’s story
With every step that I’m taking
Every day, you’re chipping away
What I don’t need
This is me under construction
This is my pride being broken
And every day I’m closer to who I’m meant to be
I’m a change in the making

(for more see link below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU2drg8FtBg

Enjoy!

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Ebenezer

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By Brian Waple

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Till now the LORD has helped us.'”(1 Sam 7:12, ESV)

The Israeli people had just gained a major victory over the advancing Philistines. Samuelwisely and gratefully acknowledges that it is the LORD who has given them the victory, for it is only through His help and provision that Israel is able to succeed in spite of overwhelming odds.

In 1758, drawing on inspiration from this 1 Samuel passage, Christian scholar Robert Robinson wrote the song “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The second verse of Robinson’s version of the song starts “Here I raise my Ebenezer,” followed by “Here by Thy great help I’ve come.” The idea here is that Robinson, and all who have sung this song, are acknowledging God’s help in every aspect of their lives.

What about us? Do we acknowledge all the ways in which God has helped us and continues to help us and provide for us? As you look at your life, take a few moments to reflect on those times that God’s providence has intervened. And then, like Samuel, raise your Ebenezer and give thanks to Jehovah Jireh — the Lord who provides.

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