Category Archives: Failures

Accountability, Betrayal, Bible, Commands, Devil, Disciplemaking, Failures, Faithfulness, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Judgment, Rebellion

THE REBELLIOUS

AMOS 7:9

“The high places of Isaac will become deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Were you ever rebellious? Did you rebel against your parents? I have to say I did. In my teenage years, before Christ, I disobeyed my parents time and time again. I lived a lie. I professed one thing but did another. Fortunately, the Lord saw fit to rescue me before I did anything that would have cost me my life.

Jeroboam’s reign began with a rebellion against Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. He split the kingdom by his act. Now, for sure, God used Jeroboam to carry out His plan, but Jeroboam went too far. He constructed idols and places of worship that went against God’s Word. For that he had to be punished. And so it came.

APPLICATION

Seeing the result of Jeroboam’s rebellion, does that make you want to go the straight and narrow? Probably not. If you are like me, my flesh still has a rebellious streak. Left to my own devices, I would choose the opposite of what God desires. But thanks be to God, my flesh has been defeated by the Spirit of God within me.

I am reminded of Romans 6:16 which says, “Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” It’s really our choice whom we will serve. But we cannot choose the consequences for our rebellious acts.

Just like Jeroboam, our rebellion has costs. I am so thankful for the Spirit of God that leads me to obedience each day. I can walk in victory knowing that my sins are forgiven. I can walk in victory because the price has been paid. I can walk in victory because the devil has already been defeated.

Lord God, I praise You for giving me Your Spirit to live in me. He keeps me on the straight and narrow.

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Affliction, Bible, Brokenness, Destruction, Discipline, Failures, Harvest

CROP FAILURE

AMOS 7:1

“This is what the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a swarm of locusts when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing.”

I have shared several times about my upbringing in Southwest Georgia. I grew up in a farming community. My uncle and cousins were farmers. So, I can relate to Amos’ descriptions of the crops and mowings. Crops are harvested according to their growth, not man’s schedule.

In verse 1 of chapter 7, we see Amos describing how God was judging Israel through crop failures. After the king’s mowing, which was probably the crop harvest that went to the king for taxes, they were hit with the locusts. This would have been devastating for the farmer. When their harvest is eaten up, they would have nothing to eat themselves or harvest to sell.

APPLICATION

We sometimes feel like our crops have failed. We may not be literally raising crops, but we are working and living in this world. Sometimes all our efforts fall short. It seems nothing we try to do works out. We are stuck and have no idea how to get unstuck.

Praise be to God! He knows exactly what we need to get unstuck. We need to turn to Him. Turn your attention to Jesus and allow Him to show you the way out. Offer to Him all your burdens. He can handle it. So, when your “crops fail,” let Jesus maintain your harvest.

I know I can never produce anything that is worthy of Jesus. Our efforts are rewarded by Him, but we must be willing to offer them as a sacrifice. Now, I don’t mean a literal sacrifice. I mean we have to sacrifice ourselves. That’s what God wants – us. Will you give it to Him today?

Lord, I am thankful for the privilege to give of myself. I want You to have all of me.

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Advocate, Battles, Bible, Destruction, Encouragement, Failures, Obedience, Repentance, Scripture, Submission

DESTRUCTION

AMOS 5:9

“It is He who makes destruction flash upon the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.”

If you have ever seen a house demolished, you can understand the Hebrew word used here for “destruction.” There is no way to demolish a house without using some pretty, violent actions. For instance, if a large piece of equipment is used, they will probably just smash and flatten the house and then haul the pieces away. Smash, pound, grind!

Amos says here that the Lord will do the same to the strong and to the fortress. You would think the strong and a fortress could put up a better fight than that. But not against the Creator of the universe. His power is beyond comprehension. When He destroys something, it is pulverized. Nothing can stand up to His fist of judgment.

APPLICATION

How does this verse apply to us today? Is God trying to destroy us? Of course, not. But He will humble the proud. He will allow things to come into our lives to bring us down to a level where we can listen to Him. We can build up walls (fortresses) in our lives to try to repel God. We think we can handle things on our own.

Instead of risking those wrecking balls that knock the wind out of you, how about taking down those walls yourself? Ask the Lord to reveal to you the walls of self-sufficiency in your life. Once you have identified them, start taking them down brick by brick.

When I was a little boy, my dad had me help take down a brick wall. I forget now where it was, but he was adamant about salvaging those brick. So, we did it gently, preserving most of the brick. Then he had me chip off the mortar and stack those brick. Later on, he used those salvaged brick to build a backyard sink and fish cleaning table. Why am I telling you that story? Your walls that you tear down may very well be used by God in your life for another purpose. Just watch what He does with them.

Father, thank You for tearing down my walls that I put up. I want to be used by you however You see fit.

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Abiding, Advocate, Bible, Destruction, Failures, Freedom, Healing, Obedience, Promises, Rescue, Scripture

A RUT

AMOS 2:13

“‘Behold, I am making a rut in the ground beneath you, just as a wagon makes a rut when filled with sheaves.’”

Do you know what a rut is? It’s a grave with both ends knocked out. I know, that’s not a very funny joke. I don’t write them. I just repeat them, lol. Seriously, not many people like to be in a rut. It implies you are stuck or traveling is hard. Ruts can break axles on vehicles. Bottom line – ruts aren’t fun.

The Lord tells the Israelites here in verse 13 that He is burdened by them. The weight of their sins is upon Him. He is weary of them. How sad that must have sounded to them. Their God, the One who delivered them, is weary of them. But now God is over it. He is tired of being tired of them. He is going to deal with them appropriately.

APPLICATION                                                              

Do you think our sins burden Jesus? If you are child of God, if you have given your life to Him, then all your sins are forgiven. We have the privilege to walk with Him in victory. Do you think He gets weary of our rebellion and disobedience? I am sure it disappoints Him. He knows we are human and fall short, but He has given us everything we need to live for Him.

Ask yourself if you are living to please the Father today. Or are you in a rut? Do you let the trials of life weigh you down. There’s a line in a hymn that I love. It says, “Burdens are lifted at Calvary.” Do you believe that? I sure do. I know my burdens are lifted by my Master. I want out of the ruts.

So, next time you feel you are in a rut, stop and examine what burdens you are holding on to. You don’t have to. He’s got this. And the beauty is once we give Him our burdens, they really are lifted. God can handle it. We can’t. Let Him have all your burdens (1 Peter 5:7).

I cast all my burdens on You, O Lord. I know You have the ability to take them and lighten my load.

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Accountability, Apologies, Bible, Commands, Condemnation, Evil, Failures, Holiness, Modeling, Prophesy, Repentance, Righteousness, Scripture, Sin

EVIL INFLUENCE

AMOS 2:12

“‘But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and you commanded the prophets, saying, “You shall not prophesy!”’”

Have you ever influenced someone to do evil? It’s not something to be proud of. Unfortunately, before I was a Christian, I did that. I don’t need to say what I did or to whom. Needless to say, I am so sorry for doing that. I have since apologized to those to whom I did that. You see, sin is so easily corruptible.

The Israelites were guilty of doing the same. The Lord says here that they made the Nazirites drink wink, which went against their vow to not let anything from the fruit of the vine touch their lips. They also commanded the prophets to not speak the word of the Lord. They didn’t want to hear it. The Lord rebukes the nation for these acts.

APPLICATION

Why do we do these things? Because we want to look better than others. The Nazirites lived holy lives. That shined light on the Israelites sins. They couldn’t have that. Prophets spoke against their sins. They couldn’t have that either. We are the same way. We don’t want others pointing out our sins. We don’t want others living lives that “show us up.”

However, we are in need of conviction. The Word says we all have sinned. That’s a fact. We need someone to point out our sins. Too many preachers today fail to do that. They gloss over sin. They condone sin. They openly accept the sins of others. That’s too sad. And it’s against what the Lord expects. God expects holy living among His people.

So, what’s it going to be for you? Are you going to influence towards evil or towards holiness? I may not always do the right thing, but it is my prayer that I always point others towards Christ. I pray they see Him in my walk. I pray they hear Him in my speech. May God continue to convict me when I fail Him.

Lord, I am so sorry for the many times I failed You. Continue to use Your Holy Spirit in my life to point me in the right direction.

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Accountability, Advice, Bible, Compassion, Confidence, Courage, Devil, Encouragement, Failures, God's Will, Hope, Inspirational, Modeling, Obedience, Scripture

FAILURES EVERYWHERE

JOEL 1:10

“The field is ruined, the land mourns; for the grain is ruined, the new wine has dried up, fresh oil has failed.”

We see failures all around us. Failures of economies. Failures of nations. Failures of people. The one thing that is certain about life is failure. No one likes it, but it comes, nonetheless. So, what do you do when everything around you seems to be failing? Do you throw up your hands? Do you put your head down and just weep? No! We have a great God who is aware of the failures.

Joel continues to tell us of the failures in Judah. In today’s verse we see the fields have ruined. The land is mourning! The crops have suffered. Even the vineyards have dried up and there is no oil for use. Utter failure. Judah is a mess. Why? Because of their disobedience. God will not tolerate that. We see that in these failures.

APPLICATION

You may have experienced failures in your life. In fact, your life may be in shambles right now. Sometimes we feel like a failure. Listen, our choices can cause many of our failures. Other failures come due to no fault of our own. Whatever the cause, we have to deal with them. Guess what? The devil wants you to feel like a failure. He doesn’t want you to know your position in Christ.

Are you a believer? If so, you have no right to see yourself as a failure. Why? Because you are a child of the King. He has given you victory. The Lord of creation died to give you promise. Failure is not in God’s plan for you. God can work through those failures, but they are not His plan for you. So, don’t stay there. Walk with Him today victoriously.

I hate to fail. I have never liked it. I like to win! Always! But sometimes I mess up. Sometimes I just blow it. When I do, I come hastily to my Savior. I know I can’t do it alone. How about you? Are you in need of a “pep talk” with your Lord? He’s ready!

I will not fail as long as I walk with You, Lord. If I keep my eyes on You, You will lead me.

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