Disappointment is a familiar feeling, especially to the ambitious. The more a person strives, the more failures they will face, but this doesn’t mean that every door is always locked. Learning self-control and patience is a part of the advancement process.
It is said that “True success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm,” and we certainly do not have the time to feel sorry for ourselves — there is work to do. Sometimes diligence brings success, while other times, for some reason, our dreams are not fulfilled. Though this is painful, it doesn’t mean we should shut down or place our dreams on the shelf. On the contrary, Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Where there are many roads of possibilities, there are also many intersections, and the directions we choose always make a huge difference. Unfortunately, many stand in these crossroads, but cannot seem to figure out which way to go. These places of decision are normal as we take time to pray and rest, and seek wisdom, but there is a problem when a person decides to live there.
It was never God’s plan for anyone to go through life drifting on a miserable sea of doubt, confusion and discouragement. I have sympathy for those who have never had peace and confidence about where God is leading them. We are reminded in the first chapter of James about those who have settled for mediocrity and are trapped within an indecisive mentality: “For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
Continuing to ask, seek and knock, even if we have missed the mark, is better than giving up and fantasizing that an amazing opportunity is going to just fall out of the ceiling. I’m reminded of those who place all their hope in winning a lottery instead of finding their true destiny. Being honest with ourselves and trusting God as our source can clarify our perspective, and this will go a long way toward adjusting our attitudes.