A Second, Deeper Look

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.

Psalm 119:71

Many of Fred Astaire’s movies rank as classics of the silver screen. But in 1932, when Astaire was just starting out in Hollywood, he went to a screen test to try out for a part. After the audition, the evaluator wrote, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Can dance a little.” That memo hung over the actor’s fireplace in his Beverly Hills home throughout his successful career as an actor, singer, and dancer.

There is no end to the stories of people who succeeded wildly after failing miserably—often for years. The lessons are usually similar in every case: don’t give up, try harder, dig deeper, don’t settle for no, and winners never quit.

There’s nothing wrong with such advice, but it only addresses one level of our lives. For the Christian, failure can represent an entirely different set of realities: God is at work in me for His own good pleasure (Philippians 2:13); God can take every event and cause it to work for good (Romans 8:28); God is shaping my character to be like Christ (Romans 8:29). If you have failed recently, take a second, deeper look. God is at work to accomplish what only He can.

Every time we fail, we eliminate one more option that is proven not to work.