31. Mistakes & Failure Cannot Prevent Success!

31. Mistakes & Failure Cannot Prevent Success!

Mistakes and seeming failure have different impacts on different people, depending on their attitude to their situation. The history of 3M includes the failure of a scientist who designed the glue that did not stick very well. Years later, this same failed invention was the catalyst for a great success story.

Friends, welcome to Intervention, an outreach of VISION BUILDERS designed to help undergraduates contact divine intervention for academic victories. Intervention brings you inspirational messages and Study Tips to enable you be your best academically! Through this message, we believe that God is set to bless you by removing every barrier against your academic success and fulfillment.

Through the centuries, very many people have experienced seeming mistakes, only to see those failures eventually turned into great successes. Today I came to tell you that regardless of whatever your situation today, your mistakes or failures cannot prevent success in your life! Whatever has happened until this point, know this – It is not yet over till you succeed!

There is nothing wrong in knowing that you have made a grave mistake. Neither is it a prison sentence to admit that you failed at a particular endeavour. Problems can only start with what you do after you have identified your mistake or failure. But truth is, whatever has happened till date can still be turned around for your good. Today I want to show you how God can turn your mistakes and failures around into success stories.

The 3M Company encourages creativity from its employees. The company allows its researchers to spend 15 percent of their time on any project that interests them. This attitude has brought fantastic benefits not only to the employees but to the 3M Company itself.  And many times, a spark of an idea has turned into a successful product and boosted 3M's profits tremendously.

Art Fry was a scientist in 3M's commercial office who took advantage of this 15 percent creative time. He came up with an idea for one of 3M's best-selling products.

It seems that Art Fry dealt with a small irritation every Sunday as he sang in the church choir. After marking his pages in the hymnal with small bits of paper, the small pieces would invariably fall out all over the floor.

Suddenly, an idea struck Fry. He remembered an adhesive developed by a colleague that everyone thought was a failure because it did not stick very well. "I coated the adhesive on a paper sample," Fry recalls, "and I found that it was not only a good bookmark, but it was great for writing notes. It will stay in place as long as you want it to, and then you can remove it without damage."

Yes, Art Fry hit the jackpot. The resulting product was called Post-it! And it has become one of 3M's most successful office products. The glue that turned out to be a failure product evidently ended up a success when its use was unknowingly discovered. God can sue your failures and mistakes and even turn them into miracles!

I feel the best place to start would be defining the words mistake and failure.

According to Sidney Harris, “A failure is not someone who has tried and failed; it is someone who has given up trying and resigned himself to failure; it is not a condition, but an attitude.” Oswald Chambers said, “Beware of succumbing to failure as inevitable; make it the stepping-stone to success.” This whole failure thing is a matter of attitude. One Japanese proverb said, “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”

The Wordweb defines a mistake as, “A wrong action attributable to bad judgment, ignorance or inattention”. So, when you make a bad judgment, or you don’t pay sufficient attention or you are ignorant of what is required, you will make mistakes. In other words, mistakes can be avoided and prevented. The Wordweb defines failure as, “to be unsuccessful; to fall short in what is expected; and to prove insufficient.” This means that failure may happen in life but it can be turned around into success. Although you fall short, you can make another attempt. You may not have been successful, but you can still try again. Your effort may have proven insufficient at one attempt, in one event, you can keep attempting until you achieve the needed result. Failure cannot be factor hindering success. It is only a point in the journey.

According to Mary Pickford, “If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.”

From Genesis 25 verse 29 the bible tells the true life story of Jacob, a man who made so many monumental mistakes with his life. In fact, in Genesis 47 verse 9, “Jacob answered Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are 130 — a short and hard life and not nearly as long as my ancestors were given.” I am sure you are not anywhere near Jacob’s record.

First he turned his elder brother into his mortal enemy by stealing his birth-right. He had to leave home. On arriving a foreign land he made a move on a young lady and hurriedly arranged to get married to her without understanding the traditions of the land. On the morning after the night of his hurried up wedding, he discovers that he was given the wrong bride. Talk about mistakes. Even then, he still went ahead to marry his originally intended bride, and bam, Jacob finds himself married to two female siblings! In between sibling marital rivalries, Jacob works at a near fruitless job with Laban his dubious uncle. Ten times, Jacob’s wages are downwardly revised, and it seemed his life was on a consistent downward slide. Jacob’s life continued to be hard until two things happened that started a roundabout turn in Jacob’s life.

What happened that started the turnaround in Jacob’s life?

Jacob had an encounter with God. And what were the results? First Jacob’s business and financial life started experiencing an upward movement. According to the living bible version, Gen 31 from verse 4-13, the bible states, “So one day Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come out to the field where he was with the flocks, to talk things over with them. “Your father has turned against me," he told them, "and now the God of my fathers has come and spoken to me. You know how hard I've worked for your father, but he has been completely unscrupulous and has broken his wage contract with me again and again and again. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm! For if he said the speckled animals would be mine, then all the flock produced speckled; and when he changed and said I could have the streaked ones, then all the lambs were streaked! In this way God has made me wealthy at your father's expense. "And at the mating season, I had a dream, and saw that the he-goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and mottled. Then, in my dream, the Angel of God called to me and told me that I should mate the white female goats with streaked, speckled, and mottled male goats. 'For I have seen all that Laban has done to you,' the Angel said.

Jacob’s turnaround started when he started obeying God’s leading in his life. With the same wily attitude that he outsmarted Esau, Jacob again tried to outsmart Laban to get rich, but Laban was smarter. That says something. You cannot outsmart life or your problems through deceitful means. I had a classmate during my undergraduate days who was known for cheating through every exam till our final year. Somehow he cruised through our entire programme without getting caught till he had to do his final year project. That was the point when his cheating skills could not help him. He got an extra session.

In the same way, your desired turnaround will only start when you begin obeying God’s instructions. So, what has God been talking to you about in your academics? What has he been talking to you about in your personal life? When will you begin obeying God and making corrections?

It is a grave mistake to think that the end always justifies the means. Sometimes we tend to think we are very smart when we succeed in getting away with sharp practices. The bible states in Num 32:23-24, “You can be sure that your sin will track you down.”

Sin will destroy your plans for the future, and disobedience to God will hinder your success, but God will forgive every sin and mistake if you open them up to Him. Truth is, he already knows them anyway. Friend, confess your sin to God today. It’s time to repent from a disobedient and rebellious lifestyle. Failure in life is a result of not getting back up when you fall. Sin keeps us down, but repentance and living right pulls us back up.

When Jacob started obeying God, he got mightily blessed. He became so wealthy that his boss and his sons envied him. Everything worked out to his advantage. Even Laban could not touch him because God personally appeared and warned Laban against even talking to Jacob. According to the Message bible, Gen 31:22-24 states, “Three days later, Laban got the news: "Jacob's run off." Laban rounded up his relatives and chased after him. Seven days later they caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, "Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad.” Obedience to God also brings His divine protection and favour. God protected Jacob. That was not all. God gave Jacob a new name in Gen 32:28.

“And He said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob [supplanter], but Israel [contender with God]; for you have contended and have power with God and with men and have prevailed.” God can turn your situation around but first you must decide to begin obeying Him from today. Whatever mistakes you may have made are not too great for God to turn around. According to Erwin W. Lutzer, “Often we assume that God is unable to work in spite of our weaknesses, mistakes, and sins. We forget that God is a specialist; He is well able to work our failures into his plans.” It’s time to let go and let God. It’s time to stop working out your problems with your crooked human ways. Stand aside and give God the space to work so that His power can make a way for you. What He can achieve in a moment is greater than whatever your puny human smartness can achieve in your entire life!

Still using his deceit skills, Jacob tried to bribe Esau with gifts of livestock and riches. Little did he know that Esau had grown so wealthy and great that even his bribes were inconsequential. In Gen 33:9, “Esau said, "Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything — keep what is yours for yourself." But for the favour of God and God’s influence on Esau, Jacob had no chance of escaping sure retribution.

I don’t know what mistakes you may have made. It doesn’t really matter how far gone your situation is. It is irrelevant to God how bad your situation is. Truth is, your problem cannot hinder God’s power from helping you. The bible states in Isa 59:1-2, “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

God is eagerly waiting to save you today. Why not repent right now and get right with Him? I would like to pray with you. Pray this simple prayer of repentance right now as I lead you: Dear Lord, I thank you for your love and forgiveness. I come to you today to turn away from my disobedience to God and going in my own way. Right now I repent and receive your forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I also receive your favour and divine turnaround for my situation. I thank you Lord for answering me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I want you to know that if you prayed that from your heart then God is starting you off on a new slate. Congratulations. You can rest assured that you will experience the supernatural power of God working in your academic circumstances starting today. Your entire life and academics will be richly blessed as you maintain a life of obedience to God.

Before I sign off today, I would like to give you an opportunity to secure your eternity if you have not yet done so. I would like to give you an opportunity to give your life to God today. I urge you to receive the Lord Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior. He is waiting and cares about how well your academic life moves. Please say this simple prayer right now as I lead you: Heavenly Father I ask you to please come into my life today. I believe that your son Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose from the dead. Forgive all my sins today and make me your child. Fill me with your Holy Spirit right now and bring stability into my academics and life. Thank you for coming. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer with me then know that the Lord Jesus Christ has become your Lord and personal Saviour. You have begun a divine relationship that will begin a great positive transformation in your life. Please write to me at buildyourvisions@gmail.com or send an SMS to 0817 2239 319 to let me know you just made this decision. Remember to include your mobile number and email address.

Before I leave you today, I would like to pray with you for God’s intervention and blessings upon your academic life. There is nothing beyond God’s reach or ability. Agree with me in faith right now. I believe that God’s power will reach out to you WHATEVER your situation is today.

Let us pray: Lord I come praying for my Reader today. I thank you for this moment and I pray for my Reader that you will open the eyes of their understanding to the solutions to their challenges. There is a way in you Lord. Show each of them that way for each of their needs in Jesus name. Amen.

And so, till I come your way again with the next edition of Intervention, continue to expect the best from yourself and continue to maintain a great attitude regardless of whatever happens.

Continue to expect the best from yourself and continue to maintain a great attitude regardless whatever happens.

I’ll be glad to hear from you. Kindly send your testimonies, questions and prayer requests as responses on this blog. To ensure your friends, class mates and room-mates are also equipped by Intervention Messages and Study Tips, kindly share this message with them. .

Thank you for joining me. I remain your host Tope Banjo and this is Intervention. God bless you mightily!

You will succeed. You will make it!

Contact:

Email: buildyourvisions@gmail.com 

Tel: +234 817 2239 319, Lagos-Nigeria.

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