Acts International Template
Articles > Solutions: > Try and Try Again

Try and Try Again

“Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.”1

We can find numerous stories in history of people who were gifted but whose talents were overlooked or devalued by many. The discouragement at the time was great, but with their perseverance, they reached great heights. Here are just a few examples:

“Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read". Einstein became one of the greatest physicists who ever lived.

"Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school." Newton, like Einstein was one of the smartest people of his day as a scientist.

"A newspaper fired Walt Disney because he had "no good ideas". Listen to the rest of the story about Mr. Disney. "It is reported that Walt Disney was not only a remarkable man but also a remarkably happy man. Somewhere recently there was a story about his early years. When he started out in Kansas City, he couldn’t sell his cartoons. Some hinted that he had no talent. Disney had a dream, so he set out to conquer his foes. He found a minister who paid him a small amount to draw advertising pictures for his church. Disney had no place to stay, so the church let him sleep in the mouse-infested garage. One of those mice, which Disney nicknamed Mickey, became famous---as the world knows. How satisfying life must have been for Disney when he remembered the hard struggle from lean years spent in a church garage."

"Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college." It was later on that he wrote the literature classic that we know as "War and Peace".

"Werner von Braun failed ninth grade algebra." Later in life he became a rocket engineer.2

Our failures do not define who we are. God has given us all talents and he knows the desires of our hearts. When we are faithful in developing those gifts and persevere even when we fail, God can use us to do great things. The key is to never stop trying.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for the talents you have given me. Give me wisdom to know how to best develop them, and discernment to know how to best serve you and others with those gifts. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

  1. Psalm 37:1-4 (NLT).

  2. www.sermoncentral.com


Today’s Encounter was written by: Crystal B.

All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.