First Southern Baptist Church

Here’s Hope by Jerry Rea
Success/ Failure

I’ve been thinking this week about times in our lives when things go wrong. Have you ever been there? What about times when you just know that something is God’s will, but it doesn’t “work out?” Have you ever witnessed and were not “successful”? In other words, the person you spoke with rejected you, or your message. Were you wrong to witness then? Here’s another example. You often pray about things (and even name the outcome to God). What if what you ask for does not happen, does that mean you were wrong to pray? Is success a larger Sunday school class, or a larger church? What if you as a parent did everything right, but your child still turned out wrong? Were you wrong to take them to church, pray over them, and instruct them in God’s ways? We all know that our children have minds of their own. We all know that they often reject what they’ve been taught. Were we wrong then to teach them?

Now might be a good time to remember the story of Job. Twice the Bible tells us that he was a “righteous” man. I’m sure he wasn’t perfect, and neither are you. The taking of Job’s “blessings” was not done by God, but God did allow Satan to do it. For chapter after chapter the righteous man endures hard times. Remember now, these were not just minor hard times; they were extremely hard times when he lost family members and all he owned. He struggled alone under the heavy weight of the burden of suffering. He struggled so very much that when we think of this “righteous” man we immediately think of agonizing suffering. Maybe that reminds you of Jesus. The Garden of Gethsemane was very painful for Jesus. After He suffered in prayer, He was taken, beaten, nailed and speared. Does that mean that Jesus did not “succeed”? Was Job wrong to be “righteous”? Are you wrong to pray, even though you don’t get “answers”?

As you meditate on these things, factor in the “way of the cross.” By allowing Jesus to be crucified God Almighty saved the world. This was the way of the cross. The way to win on the field of sports is to crush your opponent. The way to win in life is often different. Sometimes you go to a cross and give your life even if people don’t understand and don’t want you to go. Sometimes the way of the cross does lead home. Sometimes the way of the cross is the way to victory.

Do you remember that Jesus asked you to take up your cross? This is a different way of thinking than the way of the world. You don’t have to be the biggest to be right with God. You don’t have to have the acclaim of men to succeed in the eyes of God. At the end of the day, our goal is not to succeed in the eyes of men. A word comes to my mind. The Bible teaches that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set down before Him (Heb. 12:2). It doesn’t say that the cross was fun, or did not cost Him. It says the opposite. Jesus was right to go to the cross. He was right to suffer and die. He was right to be rejected and murdered. Sometimes the same is true for us.

At the end of the book of Job, God circles back around and rewards Job for his faithfulness. God will reward you.

I love you! - Hang in there!
Jerry Rea