Maybe you feel like a failure in the Kingdom of God. But if you’re still walking behind Jesus day after day, you’re not a failure. To succeed in God’s Kingdom you need to do only one thing: get behind Jesus and stay there.
If you’ve walked away from Him, and you feel like a failure, you only need to do one thing to become a success again: get behind Jesus and stay there.
The disciples followed Jesus around for 3 years before He ascended to heaven. And after His ascension they were filled with the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was alive, did they get everything right? Did they fulfill His will perfectly every time? No. When they received the Holy Spirit, did they always perfectly hear His voice and put action behind His words? No. But they succeeded because they never stopped trying. They never walked away. They got behind Jesus and stayed there.
In Mark 4, when the storm arose and Jesus slept and the disciples thought they would die He said to them:
Mark 4:40 He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’
They messed up. Their faith was lacking. Did Jesus write them off? Tell them to find a new Rabbi to follow? Go out looking for new disciples? No. He didn’t because they weren’t failures. And they weren’t failures because they were still following Jesus.
Nor did He kick them to the curb in Matthew 17 when they were unable to heal the afflicted boy.
Matthew 17:16 “I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
Even after Jesus ascended into Heaven and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter still messed up.
Galatians 2:11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.
Can I let you in on a little secret? They were human. *Gasp* And, you know what else? You are too. *Gasp, Gasp*
Humans make mistakes. It’s what we’re most famous for. And, believe it or not, God knows that.
Psalm 139:1-2
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
***
Sunday morning, I stood alone praying. I poured my heart out to the Lord. I told Him that I felt like such a failure and I felt so lost. That’s when I felt the overwhelming feeling inside, that I was not a failure because I was still showing up. Yes, I’d made mistakes. And, yes, I’ll make more mistakes in the future. But I’m gonna keep showing up. I’m gonna keep trying to see the face of my Lord. And as long as I’m doing that, I’m not a failure.
PLEASE READ EVERY SINGLE WORD OF THE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURE. BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR, YOU NEED TO READ THIS TOO.
Romans 8:31-39
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that NOTHING can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If we live by the standards of this world, then, yes, we are all failures! So thank God that failures are His favorite kind of people!!
1 Corinthians 1:27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
The heroes of our faith, the patriarchs that we look to in the scriptures for guidance, they all have their faults on full display for all to see. No humiliating detail was spared in scripture. The message we should see staring us right in the face when we look into the scripture is this: God uses the losers, the bastards, the orphans and the whores because He loves them and they love Him back. The world sees them as failures. They see themselves as failures. But God says, “Keep showing up. That’s all I ask.”
Here’s the song I wrote on the subject: For Sure
Luke 14:16-24
16 Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ 18 But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’20 Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”
God’s recipe for success in His Kingdom: SHOW UP.
I don’t know, but I think I can do at least that.
Every Day Bonnie 