No one wants to fail – and who ever is glad of a failure? Certainly not me. I go to great lengths to avoid failure.
So leave it to Henry Blackaby to flip my thinking upside down on this subject. He points to one of my favorite Bible stories. And adds a bit of his levity as well.
Peter, whom I love because he was so …human… is the focus! And his failures make me feel so much better – not so alone. When he and his mates had fished all night without success, and I mean “nothing” – they caught nothing despite being skilled fishermen, they definitely felt like failures. As Blackaby points out, Jesus could have said:
“Peter, don’t worry about your empty net. You’ll soon be in a different business anyway.” Or some other kind and encouraging comment, like we often offer to discouraged folks. But he still had an empty boat – and the stink of failure emanated from it.
Can’t you imagine Peter’s deep sigh when Jesus told him to launch out into the deep and cast out his nets for a catch. As Blackaby points out, here was a carpenter telling this outspoken fisherman how to fish!!
Remember Simon Peter’s retort? “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5)
“Jesus often gets your undivided attention when you fail”, says Blackaby. No lie. I flail around, chew and stew on it, and I am sad to admit I don’t quickly go to obedience like Peter did. Am I even listening for the Lord’s direction? So often I am not!
But there is the lesson, according to Blackaby. Jesus sometimes takes you back to your place of defeat in order to build something good into your life. We usually assume failure means we need to just ‘give it up’ and move on to something else. That certainly is my kneejerk reaction.
I assume He must not want me to continue because I failed so miserably. Blackaby nailed me when he suggested we check ourselves to see if we relied on our own strength instead of the Master’s. Oh, that is so often true – I did not seek Him first, and next or even last. All too often, I just launch in and plow forward.
Interestingly, Blackaby points out Jesus’ wisdom. Maybe we failed in a relationship – he says Jesus will not allow us to abandon it; He will help us learn from the failure and experience the difference He can make when He guides our relationships. That means I don’t just wipe my hands and turn to walk the other way from a difficult or broken relationship.
He has something to teach me — He has a purpose that probably evades me in the moment. Just as he directed Peter back to fishing when it was the very last thing Peter wanted to do as it seemed fruitless – Peter’s act of faith to do what anyone’s common sense would tell them would be a waste of time actually leads to an overwhelming catch of fish. Lesson? Obedience to God’s word, even when it defies our understanding, can lead to abundant blessings.
Result? Peter’s reaction to the miraculous catch is one of humility and awe. He falls at Jesus’ knees saying “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8) When we experience God’s graciousness in such a situation, we recognize our own unworthiness—we know we are in the presence of God’s holiness which is awesome and humbling.
As I so appreciate, Blackaby does not leave me without a nugget of rich wisdom. One which inspires me to re-think my view (and response) to failure:
“When you try in God’s strength, you may discover that success is indeed within your grasp. If you have recently experienced failure, you may be on the brink of receiving a profound revelation from God!”
