In 1920, this person started a ferryboat company. He had no success and decided to sell his business to start a lamp manufacturing company. A competitor in the area sold similar types of lamps and put him out of business shortly thereafter. Despite all of this, he continued to be persistent.
When he turned 40, he decided to go into the cooking industry. He began selling chickens at a local business he had owned. He also invested in a motel. Four years later, both the restaurant and motel burned to the ground.
He never gave up. He opened another restaurant and tried to franchise the business along with his famous recipe sauce–only to be rejected 1,009 times. Then, on the 1,010th time, it was accepted. You know what this famous chicken recipe is called today? Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Colonel Harland Sanders is a prime example of what it means to stay persistent. He was rejected many more times than he was accepted, and yet all along he held dearly to this important adage: “Persistence is the key to success.”
Today, there are more than 18,000 KFC locations in 118 countries. It’s safe to say that Mr. Sanders built an empire. His failures were never an end but rather a start to a new opportunity.
The Bible talks in great detail about failure. For instance, Psalm 37:23-24 beautifully summarizes how to approach failure:
“The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with His hand.”
This is comforting to know. No matter how often we fail, the Lord holds the steps of godly men with his hand. The Bible says again that each one of us will be faced with some type of failure. The good news is that God will carry us through these storms (Ps. 34:19).
Now, failure is not always redeemable. Sometimes we fail because of our sin. The Bible says the wicked our brought down by their calamity and failures (Prov. 24:16). Lying, stealing, promiscuity, jealously, and other vices can cause us to lose everything. Without a redeemer to rescue, failure can be a permanent situation. Without repentance, failure becomes the ultimate fate.
But not for the righteous person. While he may fall seven times, he rises again. All things work together for good to those who are called according to God’s marvelous plans. Therefore, when we abide in Christ and trust in his provision for our lives, we will be successful. We do not need to fear failure.
Like I said before, failure is never an end but a start to a new opportunity. That is, if you are trusting in the Lord. That is, when you make Jesus the King of your heart. Have you done this? If not, I plead with you to turn to Christ and be saved.
Listen, even if you are in a state of failure, this doesn’t have to be permanent. It may even be sin that brought you there, but there is always forgiveness and reconciliation available. The Lord our God is slow to anger, abounding in love and grace. He wants to bestow grace to all.
John 3:16 makes this clear when He sent His only begotten Son—the image of the invisible God, to this earth in order to die for the sins of the world so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16).
When you have a relationship with God, failure doesn’t categorize you anymore. You have been brought from death to life. Does this mean you will be rich? No. Does this mean you will have the greatest job in the world? No. Does this mean you will be free from relationship struggles? Of course not.
However, you are thinking of success in the mind of the carnal person. Success is not defined by how much you have in your bank account. Success is not defined by how much education you receive or the professional career you have attained.
Success is salvation. Success is having a right standing with God. Success is God transforming your heart to be kindhearted and loving towards humanity. This is what success is all about. Isn’t that what we all want? I hope so. Let’s pray!
Heavenly Father,
When we abide in you, failure is never the end but a start to a new opportunity. An opportunity to grow, learn, and get better. Failure is the ability to understand your weaknesses and get better at serving others by living a sacrificial lifestyle. Success is holiness. Success is harmony with Almighty God. This is the absolute truth and we pray it in Jesus name. Amen!
Conform to Jesus 