In 1879, a child was born to a poor Jewish merchant. Early on, the boy suffered a haunting sense of inferiority because of the anti-Semitic feeling he encountered on every hand. Shy and introspective, the boy was so slow in learning that his parents had him examined by specialists to determine if he was normal. In 1895, he failed his entrance examinations at the Polytechnicum in Zurich, Switzerland, though a year later he tried again and succeeded. Later he received a doctorate from the University of Zurich, yet obtained only an obscure job as a patent examiner in the Berne patent office at first. Who was he? He was the man who formulated the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein. He was one of the greatest geniuses to ever live. He never let early failure defeat him!
Failure can be a wonderful thing if we look at it in the right way. Because, it enables us to recognize a wrong turn before we make it again. Failure can actually make us smarter and wiser. And if handled rightly can turn us into a success story. But the key is to not give up. Keep the energy and the dynamics going. I have found that failure sometimes cannot be helped. In-other-words, the circumstance is out of our control. But what we do with the situation and the attitude we have toward it is in our control. When failure was facing Paul the Apostle, he kept a high spirit and said with vigor, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Failure is only the end if we decide to give up. The decade of the 1980’s wasn’t the most wonderful time of my life. Living in Orange County, California I had just completed a beautiful sanctuary which many said, because of the recession, could not be done. Then not long after that some of the people in the church voted me out as pastor. I felt like a failure. But I talked myself out of giving up and felt strongly to start a church just a few miles away. Things looked great, the church grew and looked very promising. Then matters beyond my control happened and the church began to shrink in number. This was a double strike against me. In eight years I had experienced two failures and I was confused. The year was 1988 and I didn’t know what to do. To keep soul and body together I went to work while, all the time, praying for God’s will. I didn’t know that God was setting me up to move to West Sacramento, but in 1991 I received a phone call that changed my life forever. After moving up here God spoke to my heart about starting “Joy” so in January 1992 the church had its first service. The two failures in Orange County set me up for a successful ministry. Had I quit when things looked gloomy I would not be writing this article or enjoying a beautiful ministry here today. Failure made it possible! For more info you can visit us online at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com |
Pastor J.C. Myers, III
Pastor J.C. founded Joy Christian Ministries in 1992. He was Sr. Pastor at Joy Christian Ministries in West Sacramento, California from 1992-2016. He was succeeded by his 2nd son, Pastor Brandon Myers who had been under his father's ministry and teaching for 39 years. Archives
February 2017
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