Failure........

The most recent study from the book of Judges took our church through the life of Samson. The life of Samson is very enlightening. Samson was created for a purpose and was given the amazing gift of strength.

I know that with my busy schedule, the kids, and life its hard to see the purpose at times. I also know that I have been given so many amazing gifts.................... However, I really relate to Samson's failure. By many standards you would say I am most definitely not a failure. Sure I have a husband, 4 wonderful children, a house, a job I love, and a life that many would envy. That is from the outside. Things are not always as perfect as they seem. I wouldn't change my life for anything, but I wouldn't call it a complete success either.

In college I had all these goals. I wanted to do so many things. Travel the world, get my doctorate, make a real difference, and most of all be somebody special. If I measure failure by these goals then I have failed in many ways. I haven't managed to find time for my Master's degree. I have never traveled outside the US and Canada. I really don't know if I have made a real difference.............But I know that I am somebody very special to 4 amazing little children, and my wonderful husband.

I have failed at a lot of things I wanted to do. I have set out to be somebody I wasn't and fallen flat on my face. I'm not really cut out to be a kindergarten teacher, in case you didn't know that already. I've made choices that led me to paths I never would have imagined and obstacles I never thought I could surmount. However I have also learned the lesson that was taught in this week's message on Samson. Failure is an event, never a person.

I can relate to Samson at the end of his journey. I know what it feels like to say to yourself, I'm living a lie. This isn't who I am. This isn't what I was made for. I am so much more..............What do I do now? I think Samson shows us what we should always do. No matter the failure. No matter the crime it's time to turn to God. Repent of your pride. Turn from your failure and set out on the path he leads you down.

Sometimes we are so angry with our circumstances that we can't see the opportunity stretching out in front of us. Sometimes we are so bitter at the things that didn't go our way that we miss an amazing opportunity. God created you for something special. He created you for something amazing, and he will accomplish his purpose in you. Just look at Samson: Judges 16:29-30 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. ³⁰ Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. God's purpose for Samson was to destroy the Philistines, and Samson gave his life to do it.

I truly believe that God makes beautiful things out of the dust. He made you and me. I believe that even in the ashes of our dreams God can create something miraculous. I think that if we truly trust him to guide our lives he'll take even our biggest failures and turn them around. You can never unsin, but God will forgive all your sins. Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west,So far has He removed our transgressions from us. The bible says Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

So not only can God accomplish his goals even in your failure, but he will remove your sins from you and remember them no more. Don't you wish the rest of the world worked that way. I am reminded of my son today. He was throwing a tantrum and pulled open a cupboard in the kitchen. A cake pan had been placed in the cupboard precariously and it crashed to the floor. Of course it shattered and of course he immediately burst into tears crying. The pan couldn't be fixed and no amount of tears, no apology, or remorse would ever put all the tiny shards back in place. It wasn't that he had intended to break it, but that is what happened. I know he wanted more than anything to be able to forget that it ever happened, but the evidence was left shattered on the floor.

Just like that pan our lives can fall apart. We can't unsay the words we have said. We can't undo the deeds. We can't unbreak the hearts we have broken. We are only left with two choices. A life of regret, or a life of hope. You see we can either spend our lives regretting all the brokeness. We can wrap ourselves up in feelings of failure. Or, we can choose hope. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. We can hope in the plans the Lord has for us. We can hope in the future that he has already prepared for us. Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint.

I can't turn back and change the choices I've made, and guess what......... I wouldn't if I could. God used both my failures and my successes to form me. Psalm 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Marvelous are Your works,And that my soul knows very well. My successes don't define me. My failures don't make me. My God makes me! I am his and my life is a journey. Every step will lead me to my purpose. I'm no Samson, and I don't think I will be bringing down the Philistines, but I will make a real difference and I am somebody special. The rest is up to him.......................

Beautiful Things
Gungor
All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new