For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.

Proverbs 24:16 NKJV

Failure is an integral part of success. Failure is the womb through which success is born. Failure is a blessing because that’s how we learn to succeed. There are no successful stories without series of failures. It is through failures that we learn strength, wisdom, patience, humility, insight and become more tolerant.

As we come to the end of August, have you failed at the goals you set for yourself so far this year? “I will pray 1hour every day”, “I will read a chapter a day concerning my career”, “I will study Bible 30minutes a day”, “I will win one soul per week”, “I will save X amount of money weekly”, “I will gym 30mins everyday”, “I will get to work early this year”, “I will tell my wife I love you every day”, “I will be a better parent, a better spouse”, “I will scale down on my social media addiction”; but as the month comes to an end you have drifted far from your goals, you have failed at several attempts,  you have not been able to achieve those changes and rise to the standards you set for yourself. Scale down if you need to, but don’t give up. You can begin again in August, you can start all over again. Your mastery of failure is what guarantees success and it is what separates permanent failures from successful celebrities.

No failure is failure until a man has come to accept it as his permanent position. A man who has never failed before is a man who has never tried anything before. David the man after God’s own heart, failed several times before earning that title. Peter goofed many times, Michael Jordan, the most celebrated basketball player of all time once said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 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” (courtesy CBS News). The man who lights our world with incandescent bulb failed thousands of times in his attempt to do so. Failure is the manure upon which success is grown. 

Don’t give up, don’t quit. Winners don’t quit, quitters don’t win. Start all over again, observe the things that tripped you, understand your own strength, don’t deny your weaknesses, make adjustments, re-calibrate and start again. The difference between Peter and Judas is that one refused to give up.