From Failure to Purpose: Born to Solve a Problem
Every creation of God serves a purpose in solving a problem, including us. God did not bring us into the world without thought or intention; He knew what He needed and who could do it. No one is here by accident or mistake. There is a plan and purpose for everyone, but it is up to us to let go of our failure and pain and seek God’s purpose.
Life can see us squash and diminish our purpose in all its ups and downs, problems, and challenges. We can get so focused on our life’s issues, personal pain, and failures that we neglect relationships and people. God is about people, about souls, and the best way to take care of yourself is not to focus on yourself but on God and what He calls you to do.
Amid failure, it can be challenging to see how God will use it for good, but He can use that pain to drive us toward our purpose. There are things in your life that God recognizes are not good, but He can’t change them without helping you realize they aren’t good. Pain reveals areas we need to change. If you want God to move in your situation, surrender the problem to Him.
God cannot help you if you’re still wrestling with it. Let go of whatever you’re struggling with and let God change you. The word of God does not come to condemn; it comes to convict you to change. Jesus wants to introduce Himself to you and help you deal with your pain and hurts and use your victory over those things to help others.
He wants to repurpose our pain, suffering, and failure to serve the good of others and ourselves. To use your past failures to help others recover and keep them from failing. Can God use your failure to keep others from falling and help others recover?
“But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” – Luke 22:32 (NKJV)
Luke 22:32 is a beautiful example of this principle, but in the verse before, Jesus told His disciples that Satan asked to sift them like wheat. To sift something is a process. It requires examination, shifting, and shaking to reveal what is hidden and essential. It is a test to show where there are areas of weakness or shortcomings to address.
Jesus addresses Peter directly in these verses, hinting that Peter’s failure will likely be the greatest. These few scriptures can be scary. After all, who seeks to be tested and fail? But they are also full of hope, victory, and restoration.
Jesus did not say Peter wouldn’t fail but prayed that his faith would not. He knew Peter would fail in his claims of the moment to stand by Him even unto death. He used Peters’s failure for the good of others. To help and encourage others with their lesser failures.
Satan meant to hurt and destroy Peter’s purpose through that failure, but God repurposed it to make it serve Him, converting it into an essential part of Peter’s life purpose, “strengthen your brethren.” Don’t let your past become your future by bringing it into your present. Don’t wallow in your pain and shame. Let your transformation from failure to purpose demonstrate God’s love and power. God takes your story and turns it into a testimony of His goodness.
He wants the people and places who knew you as you were in your failure to see and be influenced by you so that your testimony will shout out the goodness of God and His move in you and your life.
Choose to stop nursing your pain, failure, and other issues. You do not need to live with anything from your past. Choose to grow from it, learn from it, and overcome it. The choice is yours. You will either be a problem solver or become a problem others must solve.
Jesus cares for us and is praying for us. We are on His mind and in His thoughts. He knows we will struggle and fail. He knows we will fail, but we will not stay knocked down. We will not wallow in our pain and failure. No! We will rise again and return to Him! God will make it work for our good. Our failure will be a stepping stone to our Godly purpose, but we must surrender to Jesus and lay it at His feet. Trust in Him.
The information expressed above is excerpted from the sermon “ Framed For Success: Born to Solve a Problem” by Dr. Lee A. Simpson. You can listen to the complete sermon on our YouTube channel.
Jonathan Craddock is a licensed minister at Faith Clinic Christian Center Church and has been a dedicated Christian and follower of Jesus Christ for over 12 years. He enjoys deep diving into scripture, learning about God, faith, and walking with Jesus. He is a writer for the blog “God & Gospel: Faith for Life,” and his vision is to help people to understand and apply the sermons they hear, the word of God, and their relationship with God.