Failure that Leads to Godliness

Failure that Leads to Godliness

 

All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around David, and he became their leader ~ 1 Samuel 22:2

 

God uses broken things to accomplish His greatest work. When David was anointed to be the next king, he was just a boy, the youngest among all his brothers. Little did he know that the next several years would be years of fleeting from Saul whose successes turned into obsessions as a leader who had fallen from God's anointing.Perhaps David thought, "Why am I living a life as a fugitive?" I am the next king of Israel. Yet, his life was filled with adversary after adversary before he has ever fulfilled the ultimate calling God had for him. Others began to hear of David's successes and identify with his plight. But, they weren't the successful and polished when they came to join him. They were in distress or in debt or discontented when they would be part of his army. However, his army would become known throughout the world as the greatest ever assembled, not because of their skill, but because of the God behind the army. God turned David's men into "mighty men of valor" (see 1 Chronicles 11:10).

 

God often uses failure to make us useful. When Jesus called the disciples, He did not go out and find the most qualified and successful people. He found them in view of the most willing, and he found them in the workplace people. He found the fisherman, a farmer etc who experienced bitterness or failings.

 

The Hebrews knew that failure was a part of maturing in God. However, the Greeks used failure as a reason for disqualification, that is not the God's way. We need to understand that failing does not make us the failures. It makes us experienced, humbled and determined. It makes us more prepared to be useful in God's Kingdom if we have learned from it. And that is the most important ingredient for what God wants in His children for their eternal successful life. Trials and hard-times make us more matured up to the character of Jesus.

 

~ Developed from Marketplace Meditation of Os Hillman Jan. 5, 2004 (by Joo-Kwan Lee Nov. 30, 2017)