The great spiritual writer Watchman Nee observed, “We think in terms of apostolic journeys. God dares to put His greatest ambassadors in chains.” Could it be that your greatest ministry failure isn’t an accident? In my book, Finding Favor: God’s Blessings Beyond Health, Wealth and Happiness, I look at nine different ways God “blesses” people in the Old Testament, the majority of which seem negative, but aren’t.
The title of chapter ten – Strategic Failure – is one such blessing. Here’s an excerpt from that chapter…
SUCCESS REDEFINED
Here’s a new definition of success I want you to begin using: success is finding favor with God.
That’s true success.
If we have God’s stamp of approval on our lives—meaning, if we’re doing the things he has called us to do—and most importantly finishing the things he has called us to do—and we do it for his glory, in his strength, to accomplish his goals, then we’re wildly successful.
Here’s the kicker: being favored includes failure.
If there’s one thing we learn from Scripture, it’s that God sometimes leads a person to do something, knowing they will fail, and tells them to do it anyway.
In other words, God calls people to failure on purpose, and when they do, they’re successful.
You read that correctly.
Sometimes when we pray for God’s favor, he responds by causing us to fail. He leads us to fail. He puts us in situations where he knows we’re going to blow it in epic fashion, and that is all part of his larger plan.
In fact, sometimes one of the clearest signs that we’re squarely in the will of God is that when we look back we see a string of abysmal, embarrassing, heart-wrenching failures.
