Failure or Challenge
How often have you failed and given up on some great goal
How often has that failure made an impact on your soul
That caused you to pull back from doing something great or small
Because you feared that failure might again cause you to fall
How often have you heard the words of someone cold and stern
Encourage you to not return for lessons you might learn
From seeking yet again that thing you thought for you was best
And thought that maybe failure was no more than just a test
You see in each example what is common is just you
The difference is how you see the thing you're called to do
And how you might approach it with your confidence or fear
And whether you will choose to listen to the things you hear
As challenge or instruction as constructive or the same
Kind of destructive energy that causes one to blame
Another for their failure when they have so much to learn
By faithfully continuing their course without a turn
To something that is easier as easy rarely finds
The joy and peace success can bring to focused challenged minds
That see each failure not as that but as a blessing here
That makes that sweet success at last more precious and most dear
And also makes us more inclined to share what we have found
That striving with persistence is a source of solid ground
Not focused on the past of this endeavor we pursue
But on the good that can become of this great thing we do
That has a place within us foreordained before our birth
Before God spoke those mighty Words that brought to life this earth
That when entrusted to His will can change the course of life
And make a blessing from those things we only see as strife
But only as we spend time with the One Who makes us whole
The One Who knows our every thought and seeks to save our soul
Who wants more than we want ourselves to have us close to Him
Who proved His love upon the cross that some saw failure in
But truly was successful as its power has not failed
And still provides a solace for the ones who are assailed
That by God's grace is waiting that bright paradise on high
With glory we cannot conceive and joy that will not die
Psalm 34:1-22; 1 Corinthians 1:18
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