Life is full of obstacles that we do not choose but must face. What do we do with problems and failures that overwhelm us? This 10-day devotional will help you see how God can help you go from failure to a successful life of peace and purpose.
InGrace with Jim Scudder, Jr.
Day 1
Scripture: John 16:33
Life is full of obstacles that we don’t choose. Facing those obstacles can often produce fear-fear of failure, or fear of what other people will think of us if we fail, or even fear from failures in our past. Life’s obstacles make us feel worried, scared, and unsure of where to turn or what to do.
So, when you are scared, what do you do? Where do you turn? What is next? The answers are found in God’s Word. We believe that His Book has the answers for life.
We want peace in the world and in our lives. We don’t want to have struggles, we don’t want to have problems, and we don’t want to have relational issues. We don’t want to have bad things happening to us, but they do. So how do we overcome that? How do we find peace? How do we find the peace that Jesus is speaking of?
When He said, “I have overcome the world,” He was talking about the fact that he conquered sin and death. If you boil everything down, sin and death is the problem.
Since He overcame the greatest problem that we have, He can provide peace. We’re going to have tribulation, but be of good cheer, because if you have put your trust in Him, and if you’re walking with Him, you can conquer any of the problems in your life.
Day 2
Scriptures: Psalms 86:15, John 14:27
God’s love for us is limitless. When Christians fail, Jesus never says, “Forget you – I was patient with you the first time and the second time, but not the third time.” He is a God that has such compassion and such mercy. Not to say that failure is okay when you do not try, but there are going to be times when you do your best and still fail. When that happens, if you admit your failure, and you want His help, He is there for you.
Why did Jesus come? Why did He hang on a cross and die? Because He loves you. This is the key – God loves you. How do we overcome failure? It is by properly understanding how much God cares about you. He loves you even when you are afraid and even when you fail. The Bible says to be bold and believe that with Christ you can overcome any challenge that comes your way. If you’re walking with Him, you can achieve great things; it is as good as done.
Day 3
Scripture: 1 Kings 8:38-39
When confronting an obstacle or new challenge, it‘s tempting to think “I’ve got this” or “I’m just going to handle this the same way everyone else does.” But it‘s possible the Lord has a special way that you would have never thought of to get past this obstacle in your life.
What is the first thing you should do when facing a challenge? Talk to the Lord about it; pray. Prayer is the place that we start, and prayer is the place where we need to stay.
Prayer is recognizing God’s power in our lives. When you pray, you’re saying, “Lord, I’m not good at this; I’m not going to be able to do this on my own.”
Prayer acknowledges God’s wisdom – that He understands this problem far better than you, and He knows what you can do to overcome it.
Prayer also acknowledges God’s compassion. By praying, you are saying that He cares about what you have to say and what you are facing.
He wants to hear from you all the time, but especially when you have a need. Prayer is the most important thing because when you pray, you are acknowledging God’s power, God’s wisdom, and the fact that God cares about you.
Sometimes, you might not understand why He answers the way He answers, but still pray anyway, trusting Him. Pray while looking for His wisdom and pray acknowledging that He cares about you.
Day 4
Scriptures: Psalms 119:11, Proverbs 3:5-6
One word can change everything. In 1631, an English Bible printer forgot the “not” in one of the Ten Commandments. His version of Exodus 20:14 read: “Thou shalt commit adultery.” This edition became known as The Wicked Bible, and the printer had to pay a large fine, £300.00. King Charles I commanded that all the copies of this Bible should be destroyed.
The devil knows the importance of words. He knew exactly what he was saying when he spoke to Christ in the wilderness, “If thou be the Son of God . . ..” Satan directly challenged Christ’s deity by asking Him to prove it with a miracle. He tries to get people to do the same thing today. He whispers the word “if” in the middle of their most trying times so that they will doubt God’s power or character: “If God really loved you, then He would have given you a promotion instead of your lazy co-worker.” “If God is faithful, then He would have given you a mate by now.” “If God really cared about you, then He would have helped you sell your house sooner.” “If God was really your Protector, then He would have kept you from being hurt by your closest friend or family member.” “If, if, if, if, if. . ..”
The word “if” can take our faith if we’re not careful. We can keep this from happening when we respond with Scripture as Jesus did. The Word of God has positive truth to counter every negative statement from the devil. We don’t have to outsmart the devil; the Bible tells us to resist him, and he will flee from us.
Maybe you have been wrestling with doubt. You know God’s there, but you just can’t understand what He’s doing in your life. Don’t let Satan’s “ifs” take your faith. Rest in the certain promises of God’s Word, and your enemy will flee.
Day 5
Scripture: Luke 10:41-42
So many people are worried and frazzled and plagued with anxious moments in life. In our passage today, we see Jesus speak directly to a friend of His named Martha. He had to sit her down and challenge her to spend time with Him. Martha was anxious and troubled during Jesus‘ visit to her family’s home. She was so worried about the details of entertaining Jesus that she wasn’t spending any time with Him.
Not spending time alone with the Lord can be a huge problem in life. It is your closeness with Him that is going to help you overcome anxiety, worry, and obstacles. It is your fellowship with Him, knowing what He has already said in His Word, and spending that time with Him. When you do, you’re going to be able to overcome those worries and those anxieties. The time that you spend with the Lord will build your trust in Him. The more that you are with Him, the more that you are going to be convinced that He cares about you. The more that you realize that He cares about you, the more that you will trust in Him.
Get into a habit. Find a time in your day and make it consistent. so that you can stop and unplug and just be with Him. Just talk to Him. Fellowship with Him. Bring your problems to Him. Bring your heart to Him. Bring adoration to Him. Open your Bible. The Bible is God speaking to you, and everything you need is right there.
Day 6
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7
When we think of people in Scripture who dealt with massive failure, one person that comes to mind is Peter. What does he have to say about overcoming failure and obstacles? The Scripture passage today is a reminder to cast all your care on Him for He cares for you. That is incredible advice from a person that had one of the greatest failures in all of humanity.
Peter was a very bold person – perhaps a little too bold. While he was enthusiastic about laying down his life for Jesus, he placed too much confidence in his flesh and ability. In his enthusiasm, he forgot to rely on the Lord.
Many years later Peter did lay down his life for Jesus, but in Jesus’ greatest moment of need, Peter couldn’t even stay awake. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus told the disciples to watch and pray, and they all fell asleep. We need to be watchful and prayerful so that we don’t have a temptation or trial overcome us.
Because Peter failed to remain watchful and in prayer, another great failure happened. It is bad enough denying the Lord once, but can you imagine denying Him three times? Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him, and yet still He had compassion for him. If you’ve failed our Lord like Peter, confess it and give the problem to Him. Jesus cares for you and will never give up on you.
Day 7
Scripture: Hebrews 6:18-19
Ready, set, CATCH! Before the high school boys knew what had happened, I hurled three tennis balls in their direction. The young men were athletes with quick reflexes, but they weren’t quite fast enough. Only one of the three caught a tennis ball.
I used this illustration in church to show how we cast our cares upon Christ. We throw every problem, worry, fear, and frustration upon Him just like I threw those tennis balls to the teens. The only difference is Jesus doesn’t drop anything we throw Him — He catches it every time.
When we take our problems to people, we get the best they can do. People may fall short of our expectations, they may misunderstand our motives, they might share our problems with other people, or they might “drop the ball” altogether. But when we take our problems to God, we get the best He can do. He knows the best way to deal with each situation we bring to Him; He doesn’t tell a soul about our struggles; and He can give us the answers we need, along with His peace.
Take this as a token of God’s love for you. He can catch any ball you throw His way. Your anxiety about the future: toss it to Him. Your fears about the outcome of a job interview or health situation: cast them upon Him. Your addictions: put them in His hands. Your anger and bitterness: confess them to Him. God is a great catch, and He’s ready to take on your toughest problems today.
Day 8
Scriptures: Psalms 103:11-12, Matthew 26:69-75, Ephesians 2:1-9
When you come to the obstacle of failure in life, don’t throw in the towel and give up. God has so much more for your life, and He’s going to give you the wisdom to get around or over that obstacle. He loves you and cares about you.
In Matthew 26:74, we see just how far Peter was from the Lord. He was at the point of cursing and swearing that he did not know Jesus. He failed, and when he heard the rooster, it must have just sent tingles through his body. Flooding back to him were the words of his dear Savior. He had just messed up so badly he probably thought that there was no possible way he could go on, and definitely no way God could use him again.
How can someone with such an epic failure get over that? What we’re going to find is that God is amazing as He forgives. His forgetfulness is astounding. When we come humbly and say, “Lord, I blew it, please forgive me,” He forgives. Does He bring it up later? No, He doesn’t. Our Scripture passage today reminds us of this amazing truth.
We understand how deep the ocean is; we understand how far the east is from the west. That is the vastness of the forgiveness of God. That is how we’re going to get past the failure in our lives. Let me ask you: How merciful is God? How gracious is God? Ephesians 2:1-9 really explains God’s mercy and grace. Does that mean God is going to forgive you when you ask? Yes. Does that mean God is going to forget and continue to help you and bless you in your life after the failure? Yes, because He is rich in mercy. He is going to forgive you because of His great love.
Day 9
Scripture: John 21:17
How did Peter overcome his failure? He understood the amazing compassion and the amazing grace of Jesus. He found forgiveness and restoration. In our passage today, we see that he went back to his favorite place – the Sea of Galilee. He was sitting near his Savior, enjoying what was probably his favorite meal, fresh caught fish, and Jesus began to question him.
The question to Peter and to us today is this: do you love Christ more than anything else? Jesus asked Peter if his love for Him was unconditional? Peter’s response was, “Lord, I’m fond of you”.
By asking him three times, Jesus is telling Peter, “You denied me three times, and I’m going to tell you three times that I love you. I want to hear you tell me three times that you love me.”
This was around a fire; don’t you think this fire would have reminded Peter of a previous fire where he failed three times? Now, at this fire, he’s being restored three times. That’s how gracious God is. That’s how much God cared about Peter, and how much He cares about you.
Why did Jesus ask Peter how much he loved Him? Because love for Christ is the greatest attribute that will help us overcome the obstacles of fear and failure. What does Christ want from you? Love. He loves you, and if you will love Him, and live like you love Him, God can use you even after a horrible failure.
Day 10
Scripture: John 14:23-24
Can you imagine if I made the following statement? “I love my wife. I don’t enjoy being with her, but I love her. I might go days without talking to her, but I love her. When we do talk, it’s usually because I want to ask her for something, but I love her. When we talk, I find my mind wandering, thinking about other things, but I love her.”
“She isn’t part of my every-day life. I think about her more on Sundays than any other time of the week, but I love her. She writes me love letters. I don’t read them very often; but I love her. I give her a little pocket change every week as long as it doesn’t cut too deeply into what I want to spend on myself, but oh, I love her. I just don’t care to have very much to do with her and make her part of my life, but I love her.”
That does not make any sense, does it? If we want to overcome obstacles and failures, there must be a deep, true love for Christ. How do we show Christ how much we love Him? That love is going to be evidenced by the time we spend with Him and the fellowship and relationship that we have with Him.
Realize this: The Lord who has overcome the world, the Lord who has overcome the greatest obstacle in the universe, sin and death, wants to walk with you and have fellowship with you. He wants to help you over whatever hurdle you might be facing.
That is an amazing, epic thought. If you want to overcome obstacles in your life, love the Lord Jesus Christ. He will meet you where you are. You might say, “I don’t have the deep, committed, unconditional sacrificial love yet, but I want to get there. I’m fond of Christ.”
That’s the place to start. Then you are going to be amazed to see that as you continue that fellowship with the Lord, you can overcome obstacles in your life. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be awesome because you have a Friend that is with you, helping you each step of the way.