To fail or not to fail, that is the question...

Once again I'm going to refer to the book my friend and I are going through, Chase the Goose by Mark Batterson.

Throughout the book Batterson talks about different cages that can hold us back from chasing after God. The most recent section that I've started studying is that of cage of failure.

This is something I can most definitely relate to, and for that very reason, was a little hesitant to dive into the reading. But yet I did, and of course, God didn't let me down. He started teaching me from the very first sentence.

He starts off by talking about Paul and the shipwreck, snake bite, and subsequent meeting with Publius who was the chief official on the island of Malta. Paul had experienced many detours in his service to God. He chose to see these detours not as failures, but as God appointed circumstances. In typical fashion, the author asked a few questions of the reader, such as to describe a recent bad day and how you chose to react. But then the author went a little deeper, by asking about a time when God used a bad circumstance (like Paul getting ship wrecked and bitten by a snake) for something good (like Paul being about to reach out to help Publius' family). He also asked what "snakebites" may be happening in your life right now that God could be using for His greater purposes.

But here's what stuck out most. Batterson asks if there was an area in my life right now in which I was playing the victim but needed to recognize God as the hero? Practical follow up? What is something I can do this week to move toward that mentality?

Okay. Tough stuff b/c I immediately thought of an answer, and a response. It's so much easier to put into words what I'd like to do, yet it's so much harder to put into action.

Then we head to Sunday school and are studying Ephesians 6. Verses 5-9 say:
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Verse 7 really stood out to me. Serving wholeheartedly is the key. Serving (no matter what type of service it is- be it at work, home, church, etc.) needs to be done for the Lord, and with that would come the attitude Batterson was suggesting- that of recognizing God has the hero because we are doing what He want. NOT playing the victim role but playing the role God wants us to have; which is bottom line, a role devoted to Him. Not ourselves.

Here's to hoping I'm able to slowly but surely put into practice new habits that put God FIRST and in the hero role, instead of allowing failures and detours to lead me astray.