Good morning. Isn’t it lovely to look around and see all of the fresh greenery? I love the leaves, the blossoms, even the fresh grass. I have mowed once, and it needs it again. No complaints about that chore, at least not for another week or two. By then I suppose I will begin to take it all for granted, perhaps even find a reason to complain about too much rain, or too little rain, uncomfortable temperatures, or high humidity. But for now, spring is a wonderful season to celebrate.
In 1980 there was a Romanian immigrant who moved to Melbourne, Australia. This particular fellow fancied himself quite a folk singer. He auditioned at several places, but no one wanted to hire him. He felt that if given a chance he could develop a following, so he offered to work for free. Still, no takers. But, he had an idea, so he worked hard at odd jobs and saved his money. In August 1980 he rented the 2,200 seat Capitol Theater in Melbourne. He posted fliers in every store that would let him do so and yelled from several downtown street corners and handed out the vital information about his debut. The only cost would be a donation if they chose to give one.
The big night finally arrived, and he was very excited. He kept peeking out of the curtains to check the crowd, but alas, no one showed up. Nope, he couldn’t see a single person.
Undaunted, he delivered his performance with all his heart. It lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes. The final 30 minutes were due to encores! A newspaper reporter happened to see one of the flyers and was intrigued enough to check it out. Not wanting to sit through the entire performance, she arrived during the “encore” portion and hid in the back of the auditorium. At the end, the performer stood at center stage and gave long and deep bows to the audience who wasn’t there. As he was packing up his instruments, she came forward and asked what was going on. He told her his story, and then explained that you could say many things about him, but he wasn’t a quitter, and he wasn’t afraid to fail. He told her that he had always dreamed of performing in an auditorium like that one, and now he had done it!
Have you ever not started something because you were afraid it might not work out, you might not know how to do it, or you weren’t sure where to start? Perhaps you felt overwhelmed and unsure because you feared you might fail?
Thomas Eddison said that he had made over 10,000 attempts at creating a light bulb that never worked. “However,” he would say, “I never failed, I simply learned 10,000 ways not to do it!”
It’s disappointing if fear of failure stops us from trying a new recipe or giving a presentation at work. It’s much worse if it keeps us from developing wholesome, fulfilling relationships or from learning new, healthy behaviors. What if fear of failure stops us from doing the most important things — the things God wants us to do?
God has designed each of us for unique purposes that are important to His kingdom and for what He wants for the people around us. If our human fears are keeping us from doing kingdom tasks,it is time to take a look at how to move beyond the fear of failure.
In our adult Sunday School class, we have been taking a look at the book, “The End of Me” by Kyle Idleman. Each chapter has led to interesting discussion and the book’s last chapter considers what it means to find God’s strength through our own weakness. We have shared thoughts concerning God’s truth found in 2 Corinthians 12.9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
It is when we realize the “I can’t” truths of life that we become ready to embrace God’s “I can!” promises.
From Gideon to Moses to Peter to the apostle Paul, the scriptures are filled with people who could have been considered failures. But in every case, once they became convinced that it was God who was leading them, they followed through and accomplished great and wonderful things.
Let’s consider what the possibilities might be for us if we pushed aside the doubts and fears and instead sought out God’s will and assurances. I believe that a great many of the things we have decided are out of our reach and beyond our abilities, may turn out to be new paths of joy and success in the Lord.
God bless your discoveries today!
Vern