failure

For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.. Proverbs 24:16

 

"Failure is never final for the person who gets up one more time than he stumbles, falls, or gets knocked down. The crucial thing, whenever we fail or fall, is that with God's help, we get up, go on, and learn from the experience." Dick Innes

As I watched the Olympics in Tokyo last night, I was reminded of five years ago, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when Usain Bolt won yet another gold medal in running.  Known in the sports world as "Lightning Bolt", for many years Usain held the title of "The World's Fastest Man."  He held multiple world records, Olympic records and he was the reigning World and Olympic champion at that time in three events. 

However, Usain was not successful in every Olympic race he ran. In his very first Olympic race, the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he was hampered by a leg injury and he was eliminated in the first round of the 200 meters. 

He failed. He did less than his best. But he didn't quit. He didn't give up. He didn't give in. He continued to work, He continued to practice. He continued to run. And in the last Olympics, he won another gold medal. 

The Apostle Paul knew that there is a race and a prize that is so much more important than any Olympic race or gold medal - the race of life. In that race, we can not quit. We can not give up. Even if we have failures that seem overwhelming, failures that seem insurmountable, we must keep pressing on toward the prize that God has called us to - because "Failure is Never Final". 

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

Press On!!!

-david langerfeld