I have been reading a terrific book called Approval Addiction, by Joyce Meyer. Joyce had a terrible childhood, growing up with an abusive father and an enabling mother. She grew up hearing that she was a failure anytime she made the smallest mistake. Through her faith, she came to understand that she was not a failure and that she had great worth. She has gone on to be an internationally known evangelist and has written over thirty books. Here is an excerpt from her latest publication, Approval Addiction.
Did you know Abraham Lincoln, who was probably one of our greatest presidents, if not the greatest, lost several elections before he was elected president of the United States? As a matter of fact, he tried to get elected to public office so many times and failed so often that it's hard to understand how he could ever have the nerve to run for president. Yet, he did - and won.
Did you know Thomas Edison once said: "I failed my way to success"? He refused to quit trying, and he finally invented the light bulb; but he had two thousand failed experiments trying to invent it before he succeeded. A person like Edison, who will not give up, is an individual of strong character.
Did you know the material used to manufacture Kleenex tissues was originally invented as a gas mask filter during World War I, but it failed? Since it didn't work, the inventors tried making a cold cream out of it to use in taking off makeup; and it failed again. They finally hit upon a success when it was repackaged as a disposable handkerchief, and now Americans buy two hundred billion Kleenexes a year. It started out as two failures, but somebody said, "I refuse to give up!"
I personally believe failure is part of every real success because failing our way to success humbles us. It is a vital part of God's being able to use us effectively.
Charles Darrow set a goal when he was in his twenties; he determined that he was going to be a millionaire. This isn't all that unusual today; but back then, it was extremely unusual. Charles lived during the Roaring Twenties, a time when a million dollars was an enormous sum. He married a woman named Esther, promising her that one day they would be millionaires. Then tragedy struck in 1929 - the Great Depression. Both Charles and Esther lost their jobs. They mortgaged their house, gave up their car, and used all their life savings. Charles was absolutely crushed. He sat around the house depressed until one day he told his wife she could leave him if she wanted to. "After all," he said, "it's clear that we're never going to reach our goal." Esther wasn't about to leave. She told Charles they were going to reach their goal, but they would need to do something every day to keep their dream alive.
What she was trying to tell Charles was this: Don't let your dreams die just because you made a few mistakes in the past. Don't give up just because you tried something a few times and it didn't seem to work. God wants you to press on past mistakes. The devil wants you to give up. Progress requires paying a price, and sometimes the price you pay for progress is just to "keep on keeping on" and saying: "I'm not going to quit until I have some kind of victory." Don't be the kind of person whose way of dealing with everything hard is: "I quit!" Esther Darrow told her husband, "Keep your dream alive." Charles responded, "It's dead. We failed. Nothing's going to work." But she wouldn't listen to that kind of talk; she refused to believe it. She suggested that every night they take some time to discuss what they would do toward reaching their dream. They began doing this night after night, and soon Charles came up with an idea of creating play money. His idea was something quite appealing since money was so scarce in those days. Since they were both out of work, he and Esther had lots of time, and now they had lots of easy money to play with. So they pretended to buy things like houses, property, hotels...You guessed it. It was the beginning of a game you probably have in your closest right now, it's called Monopoly.
Charles' family and friends enjoyed the game and in 1935 they persuaded him to approach a game company called Parker Brothers to see if they would buy it. The executives played the game and said, "It's dull, slow, complex and boring; we don't want to buy it."
Well, Charles persevered. Perseverance is vital to success. We must persevere, be steadfast, keep on keeping on, and refuse to give up. When we do that, we will eventually succeed.
Charles' wife kept encouraging him. Thank God for the people in our lives who encourage us! He approached Wanamaker's toy store and told an executive that if they would stock the game, he would get a five thousand dollar loan and make several of the games because he believed they would sell. The game took off, and suddenly Parker Brothers became interested. The company executives now replayed the game, and this time found it imaginative, fast-paced, and surprisingly easy to master. The game was copyrighted in 1935, and Parker Brothers bought it from Charles Darrow for one million dollars. Charles and Esther's dream came true.
We love to read success stories like this one, but let us remember that God wants to do the same type of thing through each of us. He is "no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). That means He does not have a few favorite people, and all the rest are left out. God's principles will work for anyone who is willing to work them. His Word says all things are possible to the one who believes (see Mark 9:23). If we stay positive, keep on believing, and refuse to give up, God will do something great through all of us.
Don't get so caught up in the number of failed attempts in your life that you refuse even to believe you have a future. Remember you are not a failure just because you have failed. God sees your worth no matter what; there's no need for any approval but His, and if He can overlook your past, so can you.
Have a Great Week!
Jerry
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