Blog Fail

Yes. There are lots of funny blogs out there highlighting amusing and/or epic failures. So why not one more, right? I have a veritable lockbox of embarrassing personal failings and shortcomings I could discuss to help everyone feel better about their day. Unfortunately, perhaps, there is something different on the juice mountain docket. Fact: a ‘fail’ is not always a ‘fail’.

Story time:

In college, I did a number of things that we will refer to loosely as ‘activities’. Most people likely found them fairly embarrassing, or perhaps would even designate them as a ‘fail’. An example that readily comes to mind is my last Harvard final exam. In an effort to make it truly memorable, I brought crayons and completed my final essay question in 5 different crayon colors (authors note: I did not fail the exam). Now, judging from the expressions of my neighbor pupils, the average Harvard student was mortified by the thought of doing such a thing.

So what is the point of this? I’m not sure….perhaps that crayons are made out of wax so you could probably make them into very colorful candles? Or maybe I could say that things WE consider to be a failure (or even pointless) may not actually be a failure. 

Just as God does not judge things as we do because He looks at the inside and not the outside (Bible), he also does not judge the outcome of our situations as we do. We can absolutely go through a very difficult and painful experience where we utterly fail by any measurable standard, but God can look at the outcome and smile and say, “THAT was a success”. Why is it that we always want a quick fix, a quick solution from God?  That’s not how God operates.  He’s in it for the long haul – He’s invested in us and wholly committed to walking with us through the full duration of our trial. After we overcome one obstacle, there will be more. So the real challenge is to learn to encounter God and experience His presence in the midst of our trial. We need to learn how to LET Him walk with us through our trials and to let His presence in our pain be ENOUGH. This is a true statement: The greatest peace only comes in the greatest of storms.  God wants you to be a person of great peace.