The real test of our faith
is not how many times we stumble and fall, but how many times we pick ourselves
up and resume the battle. The weak in faith will give up and quit the faith.
The strong will continue to fight the battle.
Jesus told Peter that his
faith would be tested and that he would fail the test. He was referring to
Peter’s denial of Him three times on this very night of His betrayal. But He
also told Peter that He prayed his faith would not fail. At that point in time
when the Lord spoke, Peter did not understand what Christ was talking about. He
boasted that he would follow Jesus anywhere. But Peter denied Christ. His faith
suffered a terrible setback and he wept bitterly (Luke 22:55-62).
But, it would be the last
time that Peter would deny His Lord and Saviour. Did he stumble? Yes, he did.
Did he fall? Yes, he did. Did he pick himself up? Certainly, he did. He came
back stronger to fight the battle. He was converted; he returned to the Lord.
He was in a position to strengthen others who had fallen.
The best can fail. Even a
man like Peter, curses and denies that he knows his Lord. But, Jesus said, “When
thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren.” This statement teaches us one
thing: Though we fail, we can recover. We do not need to remain a failure; we
can come back stronger and be in a position to help others.
The Chinese has this
proverb: “Failure is the mother of success.” Every successful man has
encountered failures. Thomas Edison said: “I have no failures. I’ve just found
10,000 ways that won’t work.” Indeed, every failure is a lesson.
“Failure should be our
teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary
detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying
nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” - Denis Waitley
It is all right to fail. It
is not all right to quit. We have to make a comeback (converted). Sometimes, we
fall into temptations but we don’t have to remain in that state. The prodigal
son did not spend the rest of his life feeding the pigs. But he came to himself
and decided to return to his father (Luke 15:15-20). He was converted.
It is good to see some who
have fallen away return to the Lord. They have been converted again. And the
Lord says: “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” It tells
us one thing: When a brother has returned to the fold, it is only right for
them to start being active and help the brethren.
Sometimes, we see a brother
who had fallen away returned but he became inactive. He did not want to be
involved in anything. He avoided anyone who wants to help him. He felt he had
failed and wasn’t a good example to help anyone. But the end result is that he
failed again. He left the Lord again.
When one stops trying, it
means he is remaining in his failure mode and that is to fail. If Thomas Edison
had believed in failure, we would still be living in darkness. If Henry Ford
had given up, we would still be riding on horseback. If Alexander Graham Bell
had given in to the clutches of failure, we would be spending less time staring
at those small plastic things we call phones that rule our lives today. But
they keep trying and their inspirations help others to succeed.
The lessons we learn from our
mistakes are truly invaluable. They become our experiences to teach others.
When we have failed and made a comeback, let us strengthen our brethren. We can
teach them how to overcome just as we have overcome.
Jimmy Lau
Psa
119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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