Feeling like a failure

Anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed (Romans 10:11).

Years ago, George Frederick Handel was alone in his room, weary and depressed. A few days earlier, his orchestra had been thrown into the street following a rehearsal. The next day, a concert audience ridiculed his music. Handel was sure that he was a failure, and that nothing remained except for him to give up music and leave London.

Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupted his self-pity. A friend stood there with the words for a new oratorio, and he asked Handel to compose the accompanying music. At first Handel refused—but when he saw the title of the piece, Messiah, and read the first few pages, the musician was struck by the love of Christ. He fell to his knees and prayed for the Lord’s help in writing a suitable score, then threw himself into three weeks of almost uninterrupted work. At the end, looking over the result of his labors, Handel said, "I have never been so happy as I am now." Later, when Handel’s Messiah was performed in Dublin and the Hallelujah Chorus finished echoing through the concert hall, the audience rose to its feet to enthusiastically honor the man who, not all that long ago, had deemed himself an utter failure.

Perhaps you feel like a failure—a failure as a student, a failure as an employee, a failure as a spouse or parent. Maybe you’ve been considering giving up—dropping out of school, quitting your job, filing for divorce...even committing suicide. Of course, I don’t know what has brought you to this point, but I can say this to you—don’t be in a hurry to make a life-changing decision. Think back over your life so far—how many decisions made in haste or based on strong emotion have turned out to be good decisions? My guess would be, not many. When things are not going well, it is tempting to throw in the towel and give up, but doing so is rarely the wise decision.

Have you ever heard the Hallelujah Chorus? It is one of the most beautiful pieces of church music ever composed. At the point when Handel was about to hang up his career, the Lord gave him an unprecedented opportunity to enrich the church and the world of music forever. What a tragedy, had Handel given up; what a tragedy if you give up before discovering if the Lord will present you with an opportunity to use your life to do something great for Him. Don’t be in a rush to walk away; instead, pray to Jesus every day to help you see clearly how He can bring success out of your failures.