I watched 60 Minutes tonight. They did a spotlight on LeBron James. This snippet of the conversation caught my attention:
“You didn’t feel nervous taking those shots?” Kroft asked.
“No. You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed – you’re not gonna succeed all the time, and I know that. You have to be able to accept failure to get better,” he [James] replied. ~ 60 Minutes Story
Part of Sunday School discussion this morning was about failure. We were discussing Romans 15:13 … may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him … our conversation emphasized the necessity and challenge of “trust.” Some of us made the point that trust can be hard at times because we fear failure.
Necessity may be a hard schoolmistress, but she is generally found the best. Though the ordeal of adversity is one from which we naturally shrink, yet, when it comes, we must bravely and manfully encounter it. ~ Samuel Smiles ~Read Smiles’ book here
It is through adversity that we learn to trust our God. And yes, we do fail. God does not shove us away because we fail. The Scripture says clearly … “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I love how Peterson paraphrases this verse: “God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.” ~Romans 5:8
The poet explains the value of adversity … how it provides wisdom that cannot be found elsewhere …
And, even should misfortunes come,
—I, here wha sit, hae met wi’ some,
An’s thankfu’ for them yet.
They gie the wit of age to youth;
They let us ken oursel’;
They mak’ us see the naked truth,
The real guid and ill.
Tho’ losses, and crosses,
Be lessons right severe,
There’s wit there, ye’ll get there,
Ye’ll find nae other where.
~Burns
A more modern poem was written as song lyrics by Andrae Crouch … “Through it all” …
I’ve had many tears and sorrows,
I’ve had questions for tomorrow,
There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong:
But in every situation God gave blessed consolation
That my trials come to only make me strong.
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
I thank God for the mountains,
And I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms
He brought me through;
For if I’d never had a problem
I wouldn’t know that He could solve them,
I’d never know what faith in God could do.
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
~ Listen to the song
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