Turning Your Failure to Fertilizer

Sarah gave birth when it was thought naturally impossible; it can still happen to you

God’s word says: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). All things will work together for your good because God has a purpose and a plan for your life. No matter what happens, it will work for your good. Vs. 29-30 read: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify you.
God knew you before you were born; He predestined, called and justified you so He will glorify you. Failure’s intention is to prevent this glorification. Some people who tried JAMB several times unsuccessfully may have First Class in them, but they gave up too soon. Gbemisola Mann failed JAMB seven times, but wouldn’t give up. She passed on the eighth attempt and went ahead to make the best result [first class] in LASU as the best graduate of her set.
God has programmed something ahead of you Satan is envious of; failure is his attempt to ensure you abandon it. Those who fail do not have more problems than those who succeed. You may bemoan your situation as though you are the only one with challenges. The Bible says that there is no temptation uncommon to man (1Cor 10:13). Others have succeeded, you too can succeed. Those who succeeded simply refused to give up. It’s a matter of attitude.
In John 5:1-9, we read of a man that was by the pool of Bethesda for 38yrs awaiting the miracle of healing. Once a year an angel stepped in to trouble the water and the first sick folk to get in, was healed. His peculiar situation ensured that somebody always got in ahead of him. Many people have criticized him for being there for so long. I think we should give him kudos for refusing to give up. He refused to give up, though he failed year in year out. Some sick folks left after the first or second year. He was determined not to leave unhealed. I believe Jesus went there because of him. He saw his faith and resilience, a never-give-up attitude. These are the kind of people God wants to help. When Jesus arrived He told him: “You needn’t wait for an angel anymore, take up your bed and go home. You are healed.”
At home, he met some people who had left with their problem. Some might have told him he would never make it. We need people that will refuse to give up, insisting on God’s plan for them, in spite of Satan’s attempt to frustrate it. They tell the devil, “You won’t stop me.”

The Woman of Canaan

“And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (Matt 15:22-28).
Jesus acted as though she wasn’t there. Not being able to shake her off, the disciples implored Him to send her away. Jesus first response was non-committal, but she refused. Some people in church are easily offended at the preaching. Imagine pleading with a pastor for his attention and he is acting as though you are non existent. Even when told you needed to see him, he fired back: “Hey, woman, I have no time for you”. This is enough to stop some people from attending church; they will fight pastor, church, God, Jesus, Holy Ghost and angels. But this woman refused to give up. She was convinced that Jesus had what she needed. “I am going to get it; I won’t give up. I am tired of my situation.”
“Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs (Matt 15:25-26). That was an uppercut! Perhaps you would have fired back: “My second son is older than Him; who does He think He is?” But Jesus was testing her faith. She replied: “And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Matt 15:27).
Dogs may not eat from the table but they eat the same thing. Carbohydrate is the same, whether on the table or on the ground. She told herself: “Whether on the table or on the ground, I want to eat it all the same. Whether healing is on the table or on the ground, I want it. “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour (Matt 15:28).
You need faith to turn your failure into fertilizer. You must believe God you are not an accident; you have an assignment to fulfil; you are a sign to the world. You are a plus to this generation. The negative things that come your way are Satan’s attempts to make you give up and truncate God’s purpose for your life. I was made a success and I remain a success. Failure doesn’t make me a failure. A righteous man may fall seven times, he will rise again.
Hebrews 11 is a roll call of heroes and heroines of the faith. You find such recurring expressions as: “by faith”, through faith. As you read the chapter go to the Old Testament to look up the CV of the men and women you find there. Compare your CV with theirs; you will discover yours is better. Though they failed sometime they refused to give up.
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Heb 11:7). Noah built the ark by which he saved his household for 120yrs. He was mocked when he announced that God would destroy the earth with flood. At that time nobody ever heard of rain. “God says it is going to rain; there will be flood. I am building the ark of salvation.” I imagine somebody confronted him: “You announced this rain palaver when I got married. My firstborn is 100yrs old, where is your rain?” But Noah believed God. He looked like a failure, but he built on for 120yrs. Do you believe God has a glorious plan for you? If you believe then don’t allow failure to cut it short.

“In a boxing contest, a knock down does not equal knockout. You can still win.”

Noah held on because he heard God. People give up easily because they have not heard from God; the man who hears God doesn’t give up easily. He is a man of vision; he sees the end from the beginning. That is why you don’t understand why he does certain things. Thomas Edison saw the light bulb in his imagination; he saw a lighted world. He determined to light the world. 10,000 failed attempts didn’t deter him, till he delivered the electric bulb.
Commit your life to something no one has done before. Tell yourself: With God on my side, I am going to do it.” If you fail you rise again and continue. Today’s celebrities failed several times. When Barak Obama began to campaign for elective office, he would arrange with pastors to speak to their congregants after service. In spite of earlier plans some didn’t even acknowledge his presence, let alone invite him to say something. Sometimes he had only four people to talk to, after a painstaking mobilisation. He didn’t give up. Today he is the president of USA. There were several hurdles on his way that could make a lily-livered man give up. Imagine a black man in America aspiring to be president! Rev Jesse Jackson had been told he was not elect-able because of his skin colour. But Obama believed something. What do you believe? Don’t give it up; forge ahead.

Faith Heroes and Heroines

“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised” (Heb 11:11). Sarah gave birth when it was thought naturally impossible; it can still happen to you. God will break protocol to give you your miracle when you refuse to give up. When nature says it is no longer possible, you can say, “As for me, with God all things are possible”.
“By faith Joseph…” (Heb 11:22). Joseph was turned into a commodity from which people made profit, yet he had a dream. He had no problem till he announced it. Many people don’t announce their dreams for fear of opposition. Satan will come after you the moment you do. Hell was let loose the moment Jesus was born. Satan instigated Herod to kill every child within His age range. It was the same thing at Moses’ birth. Get ready for a fight the moment you announce your dream. Do not abandon it for fear of opposition.
Joseph refused to give up in spite of opposition and difficulties. In prison he would not give up till he eventually entered the palace. He was neither bitter against his brethren who sold him into slavery nor against Portiphar’s wife that lied against him and led to his incarceration for 13yrs. He knew he was going somewhere and told himself: I will arrive there, no matter what happens.
Failure is a steppingstone, not a stumbling block. Every experience of Joseph was a steppingstone to advance him, like fertilizer to boost him. He had a vision of being a ruler. Egypt was the United States of his days, most powerful, most civilised and wealthiest then. What a place to start his rulership! So we see that failure can be a steppingstone and not a stumbling block; that is why Gbemisola referred to failure as the mother of success.
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Heb 11:23-24). Moses’ parents defied Pharaoh’s commandment because they saw that he was a proper child. Peter Daniels’ parents were welfare recipients. Satan would have stamped the same thing on him, but he refused. In spite of repeated failure and bankruptcy in business, he refused to give up. Today he is one of the wealthiest Australians, with friends cutting across royalties, power brokers and shakers of the business world. You too must not give up.
You are not responsible for your parents’ poverty or backwardness. You must not be handed the same baton. You can tell your dad that you will change the story. You were nor responsible for where you were born. God didn’t consult you. Would you have agreed to be a Nigerian? Yet God didn’t make a mistake in posting you here. The Bible says that when Moses came of age he refused to be addressed as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. You must say no to certain things, even if your ancestors accepted them. “I have a greater light. I am a child of God. I have seen that God knew and predestined me to end in glorification. The Bible says that there is hope in my end. May be your parents never lived in their own house; Tell yourself will live in mine. They never rode a car of their own; I will ride mine.” In trying to stop some of these things you may fail sometimes, but refuse to give up. That is why it is a fight of faith.
“By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace” (Heb 11:31). What is Rahab’s name doing in this list? The Holy Ghost ensured that the adjectival clause the harlot Rahab was used. She lived a dirty life but God turned her around and she became the great great grandmother of King David.
What about Ruth, a daughter in law to Naomi whose husband and two sons died in the land of Moab? Her two daughters in law Ruth and Orpah had no children. They looked like failures. It was lamentation when Naomi was to return to Israel. She refused to be called Naomi (pleasantness) but Marah (bitterness). She implored Ruth and Orpah to return to their people since fate had dealt her a cruel blow. With tears in her eyes, Orpah kissed her goodbye, but Ruth stuck to her, saying: I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I won’t go back to idolatry. I will follow wherever you go.” Alas, Orpah’s chapter also closed thereafter, no mention of her anymore. As for Ruth an entire book is named after her in the Bible. She later married Boaz and gave birth to Obed, father of Jesse, the father of King David. You are not hopeless; it’s a matter of attitude. Orpah had the same privilege as Ruth, but she gave up.
“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets” (Heb 11:32). I am interested in Jephtha, the son of a harlot. Often taunted by his brothers as a bastard, he was driven out because his sonship was called into question, a very humiliating experience. Relocating to Tob, he mobilised street urchins of similar situations, making them to know they were no mistakes or bastards but God’s children with definite purposes. God is not too concerned about the womb that birthed you; He is concerned about you. Jephtha became a judge (king) in Israel because he refused to give up. You too will make it.

Faith and Joy

Faith and joy distinguished these people. Faith sees the impossible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible. We either live by faith or we don’t live. Lay hold on God’s word and say, “Lord, I believe you. Come rain, come shine, I believe you.” God says what He has already done. When He speaks to you He is telling you what He has already done. His word is settled in heaven, so He speaks of a settled situation. Your life is settled. Only the devil is trying to derail it. When you can see what God has for you, you cannot be discouraged.
Joy is another factor in the lives of Abraham and Joseph. They were joyful, in spite of their circumstances. Romans 4 say that against hope Abraham believed in hope. He waxed strong in faith giving glory to God. One day, Joseph woke up to find some co-prisoners downcast. He inquired why they were sad. If he had no joy he would not know that they lacked joy. Even when you fall down still smile, tell the devil you will not stay down.
1 Tim 6:12 says: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses”. You can fight the fight of faith as long as you have joy. Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. The strength to keep fighting comes from joy. So it is dangerous when joy dries up. Many people lose their joy when things are not working. Until the devil can steal your joy he cannot steal your goods or defeat you.
That you fell down doesn’t mean you are defeated. In a boxing contest, a knock down does not equal knockout. You can still win. Your opponent may be leading you on points, but one deadly jab can knock him out and then you win. I remember the Darman Miracle when Nigeria defeated Russia in a FIFA Under21 tournament. 15 minutes to go, Nigeria was 4 goals down. But the players bounced back as they scored four goals within 15mins and forced the match into extra time and penalty shootout, which Nigeria won. You can still win.
James 1:2 says: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations”. Failure is a temptation to lose your joy. The psalmist said: “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps 34:1). Some people’s countenances easily betray them when things go wrong around them. In spite of his many enemies and battles, David said, “I will bless the Lord at all times”. With faith and joy you will convert failure into fertilizer and that will give you a boost. You will make it.
As I read Hebrews 11, I told myself that if Rahab, Jephtha and others made it, in spite of their negative backgrounds and disadvantages, I will make it. Establish in your heart that you are not a failure. In God’s factory where you were made, He certified you as meeting the quality control test. You are a guaranteed success. Don’t give up because you failed. There is a star in you waiting to manifest if you will just give that exam or business another trial. Your story will end colourfully in Jesus name. You are lifted!