{"id":15593,"date":"2013-11-16T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-16T15:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=15593"},"modified":"2021-01-10T20:05:59","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T02:05:59","slug":"often-a-failure","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/moral-principles-for-young-people-volume-ii\/often-a-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Often a Failure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t<h1>Often a Failure<\/h1>\n<p>Author Unknown<\/p>\n<p>Too often, it seems to me, people lose their courage in facing life because of past failures or fear that they may fail in the future. One good way to cure such fears is to remember the story of a man who actually built a life of accomplishments out of defeats.<\/p>\n<p>The following litany of failures, followed by victories that punctuated his life throughout 30 years, is a living and eloquent example of successful use of defeat in achieving victory. Abraham Lincoln&#8217; s record is as follows:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Lincoln.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"272\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lost job, 1832<\/li>\n<li>Defeated for the legislature, 1832<\/li>\n<li>Failed in business, 1833<\/li>\n<li>Elected to the legislature, 1834<\/li>\n<li>Sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, 1835<\/li>\n<li>Had nervous breakdown, 1836<\/li>\n<li>Defeated for Speaker, 1838<\/li>\n<li>Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843<\/li>\n<li>Elected to Congress, 1846<\/li>\n<li>Lost renomination, 1848<\/li>\n<li>Rejected for Land Officer, 1849<\/li>\n<li>Defeated for Senate, 1854<\/li>\n<li>Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856<\/li>\n<li>Again defeated for Senate, 1858<\/li>\n<li>Elected President, 1860<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Lincoln&#8217;s deep conviction that God had given him a commission to fulfill accounted in no small way for his deep humility and ability to push on in the face of difficulties and failures that would have discouraged most people. His abiding faith was well summed up in this comment, which he made after becoming President: &#8220;God selects His own instruments, and sometimes they are queer ones; for instance, He chose me to steer the ship through a great crisis.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Yes, you too, in God&#8217;s providence, can be an instrument in bringing His love, truth, and peace to a world in urgent need of it. And with Abraham Lincoln, you can learn to say: &#8220;With God&#8217;s help I shall not fail.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>\fFor Further Study<\/h2>\n<h3>Verses to Consider<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Psalms 119:67, 71, 75<\/li>\n<li>Jeremiah 31:18-19<\/li>\n<li>Hosea 5:15<\/li>\n<li>Matthew 5:10-12<\/li>\n<li>Romans 5:3-5<\/li>\n<li>I Corinthians 15:58<\/li>\n<li>II Corinthians 4:17-18<\/li>\n<li>Galatians 6:9-10<\/li>\n<li>I Thessalonians 2:1-2<\/li>\n<li>Hebrews 10:34<\/li>\n<li>Hebrews 12:5, 11-14<\/li>\n<li>James 1:2-4<\/li>\n<li>I Peter 1:6-7<\/li>\n<li>Revelation 2:10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Questions to Ponder<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Does failure once mean you will fail every time?<\/li>\n<li>Does failure at one thing means you will fail at everything?<\/li>\n<li>Can there be a benefit to failing?<\/li>\n<li>Can you fail at something and actually succeed?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/moral-principles-for-young-people-volume-ii\/where-are-you-going\/\" target=\"_self\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/moral-principles-for-young-people-volume-ii\/\" target=\"_self\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoral Principles for Young People 2\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/moral-principles-for-young-people-volume-ii\/who-packed-your-parachute\/\" target=\"_self\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Often a Failure Author Unknown Too often, it seems to me, people lose their courage in facing life because of past failures or fear that they may fail in the future. One good way to cure such fears is to remember the story of a man who actually built a life of accomplishments out of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":15531,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15593","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":940,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/keys-to-understanding\/reviling-what-they-do-not-understand\/","url_meta":{"origin":15593,"position":0},"title":"Reviling What They Do Not Understand","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Reviling What They Do Not Understand \u00a0 \u201cBut there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60682,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/learning-from-the-kings-of-israel\/","url_meta":{"origin":15593,"position":1},"title":"Learning from the Kings of Israel","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Learning from the Kings of Israel by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Started April 2023 Content The Last Judge of Israel Samuel's Childhood - I Samuel 1:1-2:11 The Failure of Eli - I Samuel 2:12-4:22 The Defeat of the Philistines - I Samuel 5:1-7:14 Israel Demands a King - I Samuel 7:15-8:22\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/king_davids_kindness_to_a_lame_man.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/king_davids_kindness_to_a_lame_man.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/king_davids_kindness_to_a_lame_man.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3449,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-seven-personages-michael\/","url_meta":{"origin":15593,"position":2},"title":"The Seven Personages:  Michael","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Seven Personages: Michael Revelation 12:7-17 Satan was defeated in his attempt to gain a quick victory over the Christ, so he tries to carry the battle to heaven. Satan was unable to latch onto Jesus (John 14:30). However, he learns the hard way that his defeat on earth has\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15531,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/moral-principles-for-young-people-volume-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":15593,"position":3},"title":"Moral Principles for Young People &#8211; Volume II","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Moral Principles for Young People Volume II by Jeffrey W. Hamilton 2013 Content Build Me a Son by General Douglas MacArthur Cooperation Just a Nail Death Lessons from a Cemetery Decisions Where Are You Going? Failure Often a Failure Gratitude Who Packed Your Parachute? A Time for Growing Men Greed\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/choices.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9782,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/david-and-his-psalms\/transition-of-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":15593,"position":4},"title":"Transition of Power","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Lesson 5 Transition of Power Chronology Summary Mourning Saul's Death (II Samuel 1) David battled the Amalekites and defeated them. A young man from Saul's camp came to David in Ziklag. David inquired of the man how the battle went. The man explained that things did not go well and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9766,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/david-and-his-psalms\/introduction-to-david-and-his-psalms\/","url_meta":{"origin":15593,"position":5},"title":"Introduction to David and His Psalms","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Introduction Purpose This Bible study will explore the life and events associated with King David as evidenced in his Psalms. The study is structured around the chronology of David as presented in I Samuel 16 through I Kings 2. Various Psalms will be incorporated into our study. The ultimate purpose\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15593\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}