Read
When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Exodus 3:4
Reflect
Today is a red-letter day in the history of the United States. In fact, it’s a day that helped ensure that there would even be a United States.
We don’t celebrate October 19 as a holiday in this country, but perhaps we should because this is the day that American forces finally prevailed in the revolution against Great Britain. After six grueling years of war, the American army, under George Washington, defeated the British at Yorktown in 1781. It was a stunning defeat for the British and for its commanding general, Charles Cornwallis, who had never even come close to losing in war.
It’s normal for us to envision that such a defeat would lead to disgrace and isolation because those who lose are “losers.” I’ve always thought of Cornwallis going back to England in shame and being scorned upon his return. But that’s the exact opposite of what happened. Cornwallis was actually received with open arms by King George, Prime Minister William Pitt and Parliament. He was still fairly young at that point (43) and was in the prime of his military career. He was given a new command in India and he experienced significant successes there. Later he was placed in charge of operations and stopped the Irish rebellion in 1798. In 24 years between Yorktown and his death in 1805, Cornwallis had some of his greatest victories. Defeat was not final for him.
Throughout the Bible, the Lord consistently showed favor on people who had experienced extreme defeats or setbacks. Joseph was sold into slavery but later became the right-hand man to Pharoah. Job lost everything but kept his faith in God hand was eventually restored. Peter denied Jesus three times, but after His resurrection, Jesus specifically re-commissioned him to lead His church. And then there’s Moses.
Once a child of the Pharoah, Moses was exiled after murdering an Egyptian. Relegated to the life of a sheep-herder, Moses was an unlikely target for the Lord to choose to lead His people — at least in the eyes of the world. But to God, Moses was the perfect choice. He was now humble and receptive to what the Lord had to say — and He was completely obedient to the Lord’s commands. His failure in the world’s eyes opened him up to the success that the Lord had in store for him.
Most of us will experience at least one significant failure in our lifetime. We might fail out of college, get fired from a job, go through a divorce, experience bankruptcy or suffer a miscarriage. (I’ve personally felt the sting of several of those.) But what seems like failure doesn’t have to be the final word. With the Lord’s blessing and guidance we can always come back and even reach our greatest heights. As long as we’re willing to hear the Lord’s voice and if we’re open to his call, defeat will never be final.
Reflection copyright © 2021 Doug DeBolt.
