Our sinful society is success oriented. There is a never ending stream of books about “success stories” and TV shows tell us about the rich and famous. But God isn’t impressed by all this. He is more concerned about your affection and alligence than He is about your accomplishments. His standard of success is very different from man’s.The world honors success. God crowns faithfulness. It is faithfulness, not fortune and fame, that impresses God.

The wonderful thing about faithfulness is that it requires different things from different people. Those dear saints who are confined to a nursing home aren’t expected to do what others can and should do. Yet they can be just as faithful as others. Age, health, ability, and opportunities are all factors in what God expects people to do.

Do not despair because you can’t do what others can do. We are not in a competition. Do the best you can with what you’ve got and your reward will be great in heaven.Your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Every Christian is a very important part of God’s plan. He has something for each of us to do. Discovering God’s will and doing it will give you a sense of purpose and peace that can’t be found in any other way. Be faithful—you can do it!

J. R. Miller wrote, “If we had but one chance in life it would fare badly with most of us. We do scarcely anything perfectly the first time we try to do it. Nearly always do we fail. Not many lives are lived beautifully, without a break or a lapse, from childhood to age. If, therefore, the opportunity of choosing good came to us only once, and was forever withdrawn, few of us would make anything of our life.”

How thankful we ought to be for second chances! We ought to be glad that the Divine Potter doesn’t throw the clay away. Out of loving patience and with unequalled wisdom and skill He takes the marred vessel and makes “it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”( Jer. 18:4). History is filled with examples of those who recovered from a fall. Not only did they merely recover, the experience enabled them to minister to others in a unique way. They teach us that failure doesn’t have to be fatal, final. or futile.

Remember this—failing doesn’t make you a failure! Everyone fails, but you aren’t a failure until you give up and refuse to obey God. Failure doesn’t have to be final. With God there is always hope, if we but trust Him. Forget the past. Focus on the future possibilities that are sure to come when we come to God in repentance.

2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
 (KJV) [Read more…]

It is amazing what people, who seem to have no special talents, can do if they care enough to do what they can with what they’ve got. The following story illustrates my point. [Read more…]