Failure + Time + God’s Hand = Success
Devotions/Partners
Romans 8:28 (KJV): “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
COMMENTARY: All of us have had horrendous, gut-wrenching, painful experiences in the working world. We’ve had surprises and curveballs that we didn’t see coming and knocked us down flat. We’ve experienced failures of various kinds. We’ve had moments when we thought all was lost, that our lives were ruined, that we had fallen into a pit that was too deep and too steep for escape. But what Satan meant for evil, God can and will turn for good in His time and in His way. We need to trust Him.
APPLICATION: Failure + Time + God’s Hand = Success. That’s what the Lord has taught me, and what I’ve experienced over the decades in my personal, family, church, community and business life.
Years ago, a friend of mine owned a world class precision manufacturing company. He built and grew the business from scratch, earning a stellar reputation with many of America’s largest, most powerful corporations. He landed a very large order from a major customer. Then, to his horror, his firm made a huge, unintended mistake in the manufacturing process.
Customer specifications were not followed, and hundreds of defective parts had already been shipped and installed around the world. Lives were at stake: if parts failed, people could die. After going through the initial stages of shock, pain and denial, the owner humbled himself before the Lord and his customer, quickly admitted his firm’s error, prayed for forgiveness and wisdom, and swiftly set out to replace every defective part, no matter what the cost. He was determined to do what was right, to do what Jesus would do, to do what would glorify God. His customer demanded that he be available 24/7/365, threatened to sue and terminate their long-time business relationship.
It took about a year to replace every part, but in the end, not one person was injured by any defective part, and not one lawsuit was ever filed. The customer was so impressed with this owner’s integrity, that they chose to keep his firm as a supplier and gave them a new multi-year, multi-million-dollar order. In fact, it was the largest order in the firm’s history. Plus, the owner’s handling of the crisis led to opportunities to share the Gospel!
Joyfully yours,
For Further Exploration
For further exploration about Matthew 21:9 & 26:55 (KJV)，read Living in the New Kingdom (Matthew 18-25) and Matthew and Work from the Theology of Work Bible Commentary.
