“The righteous may fall seven times but still get up, but the wicked will stumble into trouble.”
Proverbs 24:16
Right before the baseball season, several players decided to retire.
Reliever AJ Ramos was one of them.
“Everyday you get to play/live truly is a blessing,” Ramos wrote as part of his statement. “The ability to enjoy the process is a big part of being successful because you soon realize that every setback or failure is just an opportunity to learn and get better. So I am thankful for my failures just as much as my success, beyond grateful for my time playing baseball.” (MLB.com)
What caught my eye is his statement that he is “thankful for his failures.”
Weird. I tend to be very thankful for success, small and large. Failures? Not so much.
But, if we change our attitude, and look at our failures as an opportunity to learn, and not make the same mistakes, it becomes a positive thing.
Dale Carnegie said:
“Learn from your mistakes. Develop success from failures..”
So, if we are thankful, as Paul said “In all things.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) then we can analyze our mistakes, and develop a plan for success.
Winston Churchill said:
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,” and, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Like most people, I tend to stew over my failures and get depressed. But, if I could look at them through the lense of thankfulness, learning from them, I can move towards a brighter day. I can get back up again when I fall.
I found this prayer on a blog called “A Small Work” attributed to an author named Ryan:
“Thank you, God, for my failures. I do not like to fail, but I trust you use my failures for good in me.
In my failure, I realize how much I need help. So often I fail because I barrel into a task or project on my own. Thank you for reminding me of my limitations and for providing every droplet of assistance I need.
In my failure, I see my vulnerability and sin. I
recognize my selfish choices, my blind spots, and the categories I didn’t even know existed. Thank you for pointing out my mistakes and for forgiving me as your child.”
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
Recently, we did an Easter egg hunt in a local neighborhood. We had not been there in a few years, as it had been closed for remodeling.
To tell the story of Christ, I use a set of 12 plastic eggs. Inside each one is a little item which illustrates the story of Jesus in His last week on earth. (Actually, the twelfth one is empty, symbolizing the resurrection!)
When I came to the part about Jesus’ suffering, particularly the whip and crown of thorns, one or two of the children looked astonished and asked: “Why did Jesus have to suffer?”
Good question! I felt led to explain it this way…
“Suppose you had done something wrong, and you were about to get a spanking. Just then, someone stepped up and volunteered to take your place, and they took the punishment for you.”
Jesus took our place… He suffered and died for our sins.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
Isaiah goes on to explain:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”
Isaiah 53:6-8
The Apostle Paul said:
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8
Jesus took our place so that we could have eternal life through faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ!
An old hymn says:
“Man of Sorrows,” what a nameFor the Son of God who cameRuined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! what a Savior!”
“The heavens declare the glory of God, And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”
Psalms 19:1-2
Go outside… Look up…
What do you see?
The sky, I hope.
This morning, there are little clouds in the sky. It’s as though God took his paintbrush, and made several small beautiful brushstrokes of white.
Sometimes he paints with dark colors just before a storm. Even those clouds are beautiful in their own way.
On a clear night, we can see stars twinkling in the distance. Too many stars to count…
I wonder what the sky looked like when the psalmist wrote these words…
“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”
Psalms 19:1-2
We can see the creative power of God day and night.
The beauty of creation is not just limited to certain locations. It’s available all over the world.
“There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them, He has set a tabernacle for the sun,”
Psalms 19:3-4
Next, the psalmist talks about the Sun:
“Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
Psalms 19:5-6
Caught up in the wonder of God’s creation, the psalmist turns his attention and worship to the LORD.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
Psalms 19:7-9; 14
Today we have a choice…
We can look down. We can look around. We can look inside…
Why not look up to God?
He’s greater than anything that’s going on…
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”
