Executive
12-02-2005, 03:16 PM
This is a good example of how faith in God can give a person the ability to go on and try when there seems to be no reason to try.
Too often, it seems to me, people lose their courage in facing life because of past failures or fear that they may fail in the future. One good way to cure such fears is to remember the story of a man who actually built a life of accomplishments out of defeats.
The following litany of failures, followed by victories, is a living and eloquent example of successful use of defeat in achieving victory.
Lost job, 1832
Defeated for legislature, 1832
Failed in business, 1833
Elected to legislature, 1834
Sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, 1835
Had nervous breakdown, 1836
Defeated for Speaker, 1838
Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843
Elected to Congress, 1846
Lost renomination, 1848
Rejected for Land Officer, 1849
Defeated for Senate, 1854
Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856
Again defeated for Senate, 1858
Abraham Lincoln
Elected President, 1860
Lincoln's deep conviction that God had given him a commission to fulfill accounted in no small way for his deep humility and ability to push on in the face of difficulties and failures that would have discouraged most people. His abiding faith was well summed up in this comment, which he made after becoming President: "God selects His own instruments, and sometimes they are queer ones; for instance, He chose me to steer the ship through a great crisis."
Yes, you too, in God's providence, can be an instrument in bringing His love, truth, and peace to a world in urgent need of it. And with Abraham Lincoln, you can learn to say: "With God's help I shall not fail."
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Too often, it seems to me, people lose their courage in facing life because of past failures or fear that they may fail in the future. One good way to cure such fears is to remember the story of a man who actually built a life of accomplishments out of defeats.
The following litany of failures, followed by victories, is a living and eloquent example of successful use of defeat in achieving victory.
Lost job, 1832
Defeated for legislature, 1832
Failed in business, 1833
Elected to legislature, 1834
Sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, 1835
Had nervous breakdown, 1836
Defeated for Speaker, 1838
Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843
Elected to Congress, 1846
Lost renomination, 1848
Rejected for Land Officer, 1849
Defeated for Senate, 1854
Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856
Again defeated for Senate, 1858
Abraham Lincoln
Elected President, 1860
Lincoln's deep conviction that God had given him a commission to fulfill accounted in no small way for his deep humility and ability to push on in the face of difficulties and failures that would have discouraged most people. His abiding faith was well summed up in this comment, which he made after becoming President: "God selects His own instruments, and sometimes they are queer ones; for instance, He chose me to steer the ship through a great crisis."
Yes, you too, in God's providence, can be an instrument in bringing His love, truth, and peace to a world in urgent need of it. And with Abraham Lincoln, you can learn to say: "With God's help I shall not fail."
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