Welcome to the last part of our series “God Gives True Success.” In our devo for today, we’ll explore how failure is not the opposite of success, but is in fact, part of success.

Sapagkat siya’y makatatayong muli mabuwal man ng pitong ulit. Ngunit ang masama ay dagling nababagsak sa panahon ng kahirapan.

Kawikaan 24:16

Ano-ano ang karaniwang reactions ng mga tao kapag may failures tayo sa buhay? “Hindi mo iyan kaya, huwag mo nang ipilit!” “Tama na ang pa-emo, bakit ba hindi ka na natuto?” “Pang-ilang failed relationships na ba iyan?” Kung one epic fail after another ang nararanasan mo, bangon lang, kapatid!

Ang sabi ng isang famous quote, “Failure is not the opposite of success, it is part of success.” Just listen to these success stories. Basketball legend Michael Jordan admitted, “I‘ve missed 9000 shots in my career. I‘ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I‘ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I‘ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Sabi naman ng great Inventor na si Thomas Edison, “I have not failed. I‘ve just found 10,000 ways that won‘t work.” Si Abraham Lincoln naman ay ilang beses natalo as senator, and hindi rin niya nakuha ang nomination for Congress and as Vice-President but finally, he became the 16th President of America because he refused to give up. Naalala ninyo rin ba ang nanalong Ms. Universe noong 2015 na si Pia Wurtzbach? Ilang beses siyang sumali sa Bb. Pilipinas at nabigo pero dahil may puso siyang manalo, nagwagi rin siya sa wakas. How about you? Do you see failure as success?

Failure din ang naranasan ni John Mark nang kunin siya nina Paul at Barnabas bilang assistant sa kanilang pagmimisyon. Somewhere along the way, humiwalay si John Mark sa dalawa. He left when the going got rough in the ministry and returned to his home (Acts 13:13,25). Later on, gustong isama uli ni Barnabas si John Mark ngunit ayaw ni Paul kaya nagkaroon sila ng mainitang pagtatalo. Though at first Paul was disappointed with John Mark, later on, he relied on him noong siya ay nakakulong na. John Mark‘s failure didn‘t disqualify him from serving God. Failure doesn‘t define you either. Only Jesus defines you.

Sa buhay, may kabiguan, may tagumpay. But any failure is not final. When we follow God and rely on Him, we will experience true success. Thank you for joining us once again. See you tomorrow for more refreshing insights into God’s Word!