Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024
This past weekend we were singing Firm Foundation during our church service. There is a line in the song that says “He won’t fail”. My spirit was wrestling with this phrase during worship trying to seek out what God was saying. We have all heard that He never fails and none of us have any confirmed evidence that He has failed.
The issue with failure comes in because we tend to focus on our own failures. Failures from our past, failures in our mental and emotional stability, failures in our relationships, failures in our ability to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and even failures to overcome our current challenges. We have turned our gaze inward to our broken and imperfect selves. What if every time we slip into this state, we add on, “But God, I know that You have never failed.” Yes, those things we go through, those valleys of the shadow of death don’t feel successful, but does that really mean that God has failed us?
What if we had to enter that wilderness place in order to experience God’s still waters? What if the key to our freedom was hidden deep in the wilderness? Would we decide the cost was too much? What if God’s revelations were clearest in the wilderness? Did you know that the book of Revelation was written by John as he was exiled to live a solitary life on the island of Patmos? Do you think John considered his exile to Patmos a failure? God certainly didn’t fail him there.
As our worship continued, we started to sing about Jesus’ death on the cross. As I was still pondering this “failure” word, I started to think about how the Pharisees and Romans considered Jesus a failure as He hung that on that cross unwilling to save Himself. I am sure even some who believed in Christ and followed Him started to question everything they had heard about Him being their king and rebuilding the temple. But God certainly didn’t fail there. That wilderness place Jesus went to freed us to live an abundant life today. His death set us free from having to pay the price of all of our failures.
Final Thoughts…
I know for myself, I am in a season of needing a shift to my perspective. Lies fill my mind that I am not making progress or even falling backwards. I am consumed with feelings that I keep trying to break free of. As these gears spin faster and faster it becomes harder and harder to stop them. All of a sudden, the simplicity of trusting in God and resting in Him seem like they will never be my portion again. Lord, when we get to this place help us to seek You first (Matt 6:33) and know that even if our flesh and heart fail, You are the strength of our heart and our portion forever (Ps 73:26). I ask for a fresh anointing on your sons and daughters to shift our focus from our failures to Your failure-free record.