From Bishop Jemmott’s book Words of Encouragement: Book One

      Poet, author, dancer and Civil Rights activist Maya Angelou wrote this about failure. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” Great words from a great woman!

      Many of us are fearful of failure because we believe that failure is the end. Failure is part of the process God uses to push us to our destiny. We should not live our life with careless or reckless abandon, or we should not fail to plan, but we should also not be afraid to try and to fail. Our failure does not constitute God’s failure. His grace allows us to fail and move forward with our lives.

      The Bible is replete with men and women who failed. Moses failed when he tried to deliver the people by his hands; David failed in his attempt to bring the Ark of The Lord into his capital city the first time; Peter failed on that crucial night when Jesus was arrested and taken into custody. However, the Bible is also a source of encouragement and hope. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (NASB) Doing all things also means coming back from failures.

      Remember, every failure is an opportunity to succeed!

Be Blessed,

Bishop Jemmott