AUGUST 28, Philippians 3:13

Ten-year-old Fanny returned home, ran straight into her bedroom and locked it. From outside, Mum heard crying and knew that Fanny was very upset. She wondered what caused it. Can you guess? Fanny came out of her bedroom after a while. With her eyes swollen and red, she sat on the sofa still looking sad.

“What happened, Fanny?” asked Mum gently.

“I felt lousy about myself,” replied Fanny sadly, and continued, “I failed the trial to qualify for the school team.” Putting her arms round Fanny, Mum comforted her daughter and prayed with her.

Fanny had failed. Have you failed before and felt terrible after that? Failure does make us feel we are weak. But weaknesses cause us to depend on God even more. Failure also helps us to grow in character; failure teaches us humility, perseverance and value of hard work. Through failing, we learn how to succeed. Through failure, we grow and mature.

We must learn from mistakes and make changes. To make changes, we put failure behind.

Thought: Recite and memorise today’s text.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in life we sometimes fail. When it happens, help us to learn from the mistakes, and move forward and grow. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.