Have faith in God

David, the psalmist, prayed: "Create in me a clean
heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."1

You sit with your head in your hands thinking you're a
total failure. "I've blown it again," you mutter to
yourself in despair.

Hold it right there! Did you know that Walt Disney
went broke seven times and had a nervous breakdown
before he became successful?

And that Enrico Caruso failed so many times with his
singing that his teacher advised him to quit. He
didn't. His mother saw to that. And he became one of
the world's greatest tenors.

And Thomas Edison was called a dunce at school. Later,
he failed more than six thousand times before
perfecting the first electric light bulb.

Think, too, of King David in the Bible. He blew it big
time. He not only committed adultery with Bathsheba
and got her pregnant, but had her husband killed and
took her as another wife. When he admitted his
failure, God forgave him and gave him another chance.
In fact, Bathsheba became the mother of King Solomon
through whose line Jesus Christ came.

And remember Paul the apostle, he was so opposed to
Christianity he was running around having Christians
killed when God got a hold of him and turned his life
around and used him in an incredible way.

God wants to turn our lives around too when we fail.
So, if you feel like giving up, don't. Remember
failure is an event not a person. Now's the time to
give God a chance. It starts with being honest with
yourself, with a trusted friend, and with
God¡Xadmitting how and where you've failed and asking
God to forgive you and to help you.

For real encouragement, read all of Psalm 51. And
listen to these words also written by David: "There
was a time when I wouldn't admit what a sinner I was.
But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days
with frustration. All day and all night your hand was
heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water on a
sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, 'I
will confess them to the Lord.' and you forgave me!
All my guilt is gone." 2

What a gracious, loving, forgiving God we have.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please be merciful to me
a sinner. I confess all my sins (name the ones you've
never confessed before) to you. Have mercy on me and
forgive me. Thank you for hearing and answering my
prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."