The Encouraging Word: 2/9/2006

Dealing With the Mess of Growth

Temporary failure is an unavoidable mess we make when striving for greatness.

The Bible gives us this graphic lesson on life in Proverbs 14:4. “Where there’s no oxen, the manger is clean, but profits increase by the strength of the ox.” Great pursuits call for greater power. And cranking up the power creates an inevitable byproduct – mess. This ancient Farmer’s Almanac says essentially: “If you don’t want to pull the plow yourself, you’ll have to buy an ox. If you buy an ox you’ll have to shovel manure! You decide if you’re ready to deal with the hassle of expanding your field!”

Failure is simply one of the messes of success. You’ll never succeed in business, family or life, unless you’re willing to risk scooping up the messes you make along the way. Don’t be paralyzed by your failures, mistakes and messes! Scoop them up according to God’s grace provision and get on with it!

This is Mike Neely with the Encouraging Word!

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