It has been said that nothing drags more stubbornly than a sack of failures. Every one of us who has breathed the air of this world knows what failure is like in one form or another. Whether it is a missed free throw, a failed relationship, a business that went south, or a devastating moral disaster that has caused deep sorrow and collateral damage, the pain from failure and loss can cut deep into the heart.

For the believer in Jesus Christ, His victory over sin, death, and the grave gives to us a living hope and becomes the foundation for our worldview. With an empty tomb, there will always be hope through the Risen One. With every failure and setback we experience, the Lord gives hope and grace to begin again.

In the loving discipline of God, trials come into our lives for the purpose of conforming us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). The Lord’s discipline is multi-faceted and masterfully applied.  For instance, God brought corrective discipline into the life of David; preventive discipline in the life of Paul; and educational discipline in the life of Job. (more…)