FAILURE
March 16, 2020
Prayer: Dear Lord, Please help me to keep my heart hidden with You when this world hurts me. Thank You for being my strength and help. Amen.
Scripture: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Hab. 3:17-18 NIV
It was one of the very lowest times of my career. I had been assigned to teach in a school that was literally out of control. Students did as they pleased, no matter what the adults tried to do. This was not my usual assignment, so besides teaching an age group I was uncomfortable with, I also had to create entirely new lessons that would captivate and teach them.
Very little that I did was successful. Administrators gave me lip service, but little help. Students were disorderly, rude, unmotivated, disrespectful, and downright mean to me. How was I to size up my work for that year? Had I failed?
From a strictly human viewpoint, people would say I had worked hard, but did not succeed. However, how would my Lord evaluate my performance? He saw all my prayers for my students, even my fasting. He saw the hours of work, the genuine attempt to do well. He saw the patience I had with some of the most difficult children I had ever met, and the love I had shown. Would He be as hard on me as I had been on myself?
Reflect on your work as you think Christ would, not as man would. Have you been faithful in those things that Christ has called you to? Has your heart attitude been right before God? Then, be encouraged. Hear Christ say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (not “good and successful servant”).
Copyright Shirley Wilson. Email [email protected]