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success and failure // Wednesday E-Devotion

"Failure doesn't mean God is not with you. Sometimes God makes you fail; for the stuff of victory comes out of failure." - Erwin McManus

Success and failure. Each of us has to stop and question where our hearts are on this issue. Do we avoid things that are most likely failures, or do we trust God? What McManus said hit me like a faith train. Yes, a faith train and not a freight train.

Dear friends, I so want success in everything I do. I want to please the people I serve and the people I love. Yet does pleasing people mean that I leave behind the best God has for me and my family? Faith is the way to please God ( Hebrews 11:6), and it is being confident when you are blind and cannot see ( Hebrews 11:1).

What would we attempt if we knew we could not fail?

The truth is: living for God is an adventure of faith where success and failure are taken out of our hands and places in the hands of God. The outcome is His. The results have everything to do with His best and His purpose for us, and with all certainty we can know that we will go through some places where failure is all too real.

Success and failure. It is doesn't matter because it is all about God!

Proverbs 21 (NLT)

2 People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.

3 The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices.
5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

15 Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.

16 The person who strays from common sense will end up in the company of the dead.

21 Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

30 No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord.

31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

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