MAKING FAILURE YOUR FRIEND

[Pastor Bayo Afolaranmi]

Dearly Beloved,

MAKING FAILURE YOUR FRIEND

“When these troubles came to him, Manasseh begged for help from the Lord his God. He humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. Manasseh prayed to God and begged God to help him. The Lord heard his begging and felt sorry for him, so the Lord let him return to Jerusalem and to his throne. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was the true God” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13 ERV).

Undergoing leadership studies of EQUIP® founded by the renowned author and speaker, Dr. John C. Maxwell has been fascinating to me. One of the studies which is seemingly awkward is titled “Failing Forward”.  More awkward is one of its lessons sub-titled “Make Failure Your Best Friend”. How can one make failure one’s best friend? The writer of the lesson admitted that the idea may seem odd, but he went further to explain that “...the truth of the matter is that failure is either your friend or your enemy, and you are the one who chooses which it is. If you whine and complain every time you fail, then failure will remain your enemy. But if you learn from your failures, then you actually benefit from them and that makes failure your friend.” This can be possible if one is ready to make one’s failure a stepping stone to one’s future successes.

Three biblical case studies were used to buttress this point. One, Jacob, the deceiver who became Israel, a prince with God that God used to raise a nation separated unto Himself (see Genesis 25-32). Two, Manasseh, a wicked king in Judah who God taught a lesson in the hard way by making him become a captive in a foreign land. He learnt from his failure and cried unto God. God restored him back to his throne (see 2 Chronicles 33:10-20). Three, the prodigal son in Luke 15 who willfully lost himself. He accepted full responsibility for his wrong choices and came back the lost joy of his family. All these people learnt from their failures by admitting their wrong doings and the end of their stories became desirable.

Twice in Psalm 119, the psalmist endeared himself to failure. Hear him: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.... It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (Psalms 119:67, 71 NIV). What are your failures or things that are hurting you? Are you trying to distance yourself from them? Make them your friend and learn from them as you allow them to be your teacher. They will indeed become your stepping stones to your breakthrough.

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

Prayer Point: Pray for the grace to make failure your friend by learning from it and making it your stepping stone to your success and breakthrough in life.