Failure is not an option!

This week I was reading an article on Maya Angelou in which I found some very interesting information regarding her past that really encouraged me.

Being in ministry is not easy. Owning a business is not easy. Chasing your dreams is not easy. None of it is easy, but your desire to see something come to pass gives you the fuel to continue. There are going to be many times you feel like giving up or asking yourself “why am I doing this?” But, the reality is that you’re not doing it for yourself… You are doing it to for someone else.

God has placed that dream inside of you for a reason. He placed it inside of you to touch others. It doesn’t matter what it is, He created you to do it just the way YOU can do it!

Don’t be discouraged when things get tough, know that God built you to carry that thing out. Your trials are there to build perseverance, to build endurance, and build your faith. For everything is a learning experience.

Going back to Maya Angelou; who is well known in American Literature. She has been known from generation to generation for her amazing writing abilities. She was proficient in six different languages, she had more than 30 honorary degrees, she was a three time Grammy winner, she was also very political, and the list goes on.

Before all of these great things were attached to Maya Angelou’s name, she struggled. She was molested as a child and didn’t speak for five years after her rapist was murdered. She became a single mother at the age of seventeen. She never went to college. In trying to provide for her son, she turned to stripping and even prostituting.

I point all of this out for you to see what can happen if you just don’t quit. She refused to quit. Failure wasn’t an option for her. Look how great her name became in American history. Despite all the things that she had endured growing up, she never stopped; she kept going. She turned to writing and writing was the very thing that saved her life and made her great.

You also hear of Tyler Perry’s story of being homeless and living out of his car before he caught his big break and look at how much he is changing the Entertainment Industry today. Or look at Chrissy Metz who plays Kate on “This is us,” she had ten cents to her name when she got the call back for “This is us.” Now it’s one of the biggest shows on T.V.

Let’s take a look at Noah in the Bible. Scholars say it took Noah anywhere between 100-120 years to build the ark. God gave him a vision, and he was responsible to walk it out. Can you imagine all the people thinking he was crazy or how much ridicule he had to face. But guess what?! He didn’t give up. He held on to the very thing that God had deposited in Him.

I say all of this to say, don’t give up! Keep going. Follow that burning fire that is in your belly that you so desire to see come to pass. It can be ministry, being a musician, having a business, maybe having a successful marriage, or living a vegan life. Whatever it is that is burning inside of you, don’t let that desire burn out.

Imagine if they had quit, imagine if they had given up, we wouldn’t have history today. I would rather wait five, ten, twenty years for my promise to come to pass than 120 years like Noah did. It’s all about your perspective. Next time you think about quitting or giving up, remember these stories and see how they changed history.

You are a history maker! You are a generation changer! You are called to make a difference in this world. God birthed you with all you need to make that thing come to pass.

Etch “failure is not an option” in your mind. Imagine if Maya Angelou, Tyler Perry, Chrissy Metz, or Noah all quit, we wouldn’t be reading about them in history or watching them on T.V.

Here are some scriptures to help encourage you not to give up. Remember that failure is not an option!

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established.” NASB

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” NASB

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding.” NASB

Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God.” NLT