Have you ever heard of a guy named Ronald Wayne? Probably not. On April 1, 1976 he helped start a little company with a guy named Steve Jobs. You know that name. The company was called Apple. His job was to oversee mechanical engineering and documentation, all in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the business. 12 days later, he became nervous about the debt the new company had taken on and sold his 10% stake in the company for $800. CNBC estimates that his 10% share today would be worth more than $80 billion dollars.
Well, that is a colossal mistake, and while it would be easy to think of Ronald Wayne as a failure, we all know what failure feels like. We fail in different ways, but none of us are strangers to failure.
Failure often produces a lot of negative feelings and emotions. Maybe you have battled rejection, guilt, shame, reproach, and fear. Maybe you have heard the lies of Satan telling you that you will never get over this. You will never move forward.
Micah 7:8 - “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”
What does God want you to do after failure? He wants you to get back up.
Failure doesn’t mean you have blown everything. It means you have some hard lessons to learn.
It doesn’t mean you are a permanent loser. It means you aren’t as smart as you thought you were.
It doesn’t mean you should give up. It means you need the Lord to show you the next step.
It doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you. It means that God a better plan.
I’ve noticed there are two limiting beliefs that keep people from being restored to God.
1.Pride – Without humility restoration is not possible. Pride says I’m not going to admit I did anything wrong. Pride says I don’t want anyone to know I did anything wrong. Pride says it’s someone else’s fault. Pride refuses to take responsibility.
2.I will never get over my mistake – You go to bed thinking of your failure. You wake up in the morning thinking of your failure. You are trapped in the past and have come to believe you can never move forward. You truly question whether God could love you and forgive you. Your limited belief system has robbed you of a better future in God.
Somebody listening needs to hear these words: God has a way of bringing things back from failure. As long as you have breath, you have a chance! It may feel like the world is finished with you, but God is not. Maybe you failed, but you’re not a failure. You made a mistake, but you are not a mistake.
Maybe today you feel paralyzed by your failure. Here’s the path forward.
Restoration always begins with confession and repentance.
Confessing our sin means to see it as God sees it. It means to agree with God that our sin is an act of sinful rebellion.
I was asked one time, “Pastor Loren how do I know if I have truly repented?” This is important because a lot of people misunderstand repentance. When a person repents they….
-Stop making excuses
-Understand that all sin is a rebellion against God
-They reveal sorrow for the sinful act, not simply a sorrow for the consequence.
-Genuinely want to change
-They are broken and humble
Ask for forgiveness. Receive forgiveness.
The only reason we are able to be forgiven and restored is because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. His death pays the way. It offers us hope, restoration, and transformed life, and a relationship with God.
Today’s Challenge: If you have failed, come to Jesus today and be restored. Your failure doesn’t have to be final.
