The Joy of Progress

There is nothing more challenging than maintaining passion and fire in the midst of failure. You try, try, try and fail, fail, fail. Usually, this leads to quitting and disillusionment. However, for some, they go crazy and actually continue to pursue success. There are countless stories of athletes, business entrepreneurs, politicians, and ministers who went from the pain of failure to the joy of success. What is amazing is that very few can point to any specific moment when everything changed. Rather, they continued to do what they believed was the right way to do it. It is during this time of failure that we must look closely at the slight level of progress that has been made and take joy in it. We must grab onto those small moments that have the potential for success, otherwise we become very discouraged.
As a pastor, there are too many moments where failure has been the predominant force in my life. Either I messed up, someone else messed up, or a little bit of both. Yet, I'm still here. I am here for one reason and one reason alone. I feel called, equipped, and cannot picture myself doing anything else that this juncture in my life. Yet, by most standards I have failed much more than I have succeeded. However, I believe most standards are wrong when defining failure and success. The degree of failure should be measured by the amount of time it took us to quit something. If you haven't quit, then in my opinion, you really haven't failed. Those who view me as a failure because I allegedly hurt them, or wasn't a strong enough leader, or lacked that "flare" that defines a good leader really aren't around me all that much because they quit. The critics will always be critical and the only way it can effect me is if it leads to my quitting.
Instead, learn from your mistakes, stay true to what God has called you to do, and never forget that the two great commandments should influence every action. Hang onto that, don't quit, understand failure happens, and make sure you are judging success on the right standards.