Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Failure is not an Option by Jacqueline D. Moore


Failure is not an Option!

Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth. ~ Mark Twain

Scripture:
I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away fromthem. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Romans 16:17-18

Today I was full of apprehension. Nothing significant happened, other than the realization of a dream coming to fruition. You see, a few years ago I decided that I wanted to become an author. Since that time, I have slowly begun working towards that goal. This desire manifested itself when I began writing these devotionals and with it came the realization that I was touching the lives of others with God’s word. I moved from the devotionals to short stories and finally, my first full fledged manuscript. My manuscript was selected by Elissa Gabrielle of “Peace in the Storm Publishing.”

Elissa chose my book along with seven other very talented authors to launch this endeavor. These groups of authors are like none I’ve ever met before. Although the selections of books are as varied as the authors themselves, each is extremely talented and noteworthy in their own right. It causes me to ponder the question, Am I worthy?

Am I worthy enough to be counted among this national collective of talent? Am I worthy enough to think I can actually be an author who can sell books outside of my own circle of family and friends? But most of all, can I actually touch the lives of other by spreading God’s word? I was both humbled and frightened of the tasks that lay ahead.

What if I’m not good enough, talented enough or eloquent enough? What happens if I can’t talk to people about my book or worse yet, say the wrong thing? What happens if I turn people away from instead of leading people to Christ? What if?

So often we find ourselves on the verge of our breakthroughs and we will actually undermine our own efforts for fear of doing or saying the wrong things. We will talk ourselves out of our blessings out of fear and because we lack the faith to see these things through. As I write these words, I am reminded of just how often God has promised us His blessings if we just believe and have faith. His word tells us that we have not because we ask not. I am also reminded that He has not given us a spirit of fear and that all He asks of us is to have mustard seed faith.

In knowing the word of God, all I can say is; Failure is not an option.

Be blessed

Prayer:
Father God, I cme before the throne of grace seeking Your favor, Your grace and Your wisdom. Lord, as I pause to reflect on what lies ahead, I am reminded that it doesn’t matter because You have already gone before me to prepare the way. Lord, there are those around me waiting to see me fail. But I know that even if I fall, I can always get back up. I know that my greatest failure is not being willing to at least try. I am fearless because You have already given me power over failure. I can move mountains and overcome anything that lies in my way because You have given me the victory in Christ Jesus. When the way seems dark and dismal, I will not fear because You are there to light my way. Thank You Father. Thank You Lord, because You are there to quiet the storms that assail me. You speak words of peace, love, and joy. Thank You. Father God, I come asking that You would touch my brothers and sisters in Christ. Where there is pain and suffering, I ask that You would replace that pain with the joy of healing. Where there is confusion, I ask that You would replace that confusion with the clarity of Your word. Where there is and war, I ask for peace. Lord, my prayer is not complete until I give thanks to You for not only what You have done in my life but also for what You are about to do. Bless the name of the Lord, thank You Jesus. In His name we pray, Amen.


JACQUELINE D. MOORE is the author of the forthcoming Serving Justice. Please visit http://www.peaceinthestormpublishing.com/ to learn more about Jacqueline.

5 comments:

Lorraine Elzia said...

Trusting and believing in God is truly our acknowledgment that Failure is not an option. I love this message Jackie.

Linda Beed said...

Great words of wisdom. Thank you.

Linda!
www.lindabeed.com

Jackie Moore said...

Thank you so much for your acknowledgement Ms. Deeva. Thank you for always supporting me.

Jackie Moore said...

Dr. Beed, I am blessed that you have graced my page. Thank you so much!

Claudia Brown-Mosley said...

I'm blessed to be part of this blessing event. I received my postcard today and it's beautiful. Elissa is one of a kind and we need to take notes and learn alot from this blessing.