Oftentimes we people fail to see God's purposes for our failures. We try and try, and yet we keep failing. We push ourselves harder, thinking that if we do better we will succeed someday. Still we keep failing.

Not everyone who tries to do their best succeeds. There are times when some things aren't meant for us. Inventors such as Thomas Edison might have succeeded in creating the first lightbulb, but he faced hardships before he did. His famous quote teaches us a lot of things:

"I didn't fail 5,000 times. I discovered 5,000 ways that didn't work."

Edison did succeed alright, but only after discovering the ways that wouldn't work. He tried thousands of times, and discovered thousands of ways that ended up in failure. In the end, he discovered the one way that would make his invention work.

Now here's what I want to say to you, dear friends. Have you failed time and again, even after giving it your best shot? Have you tried thousands of times but still can't figure out what you're supposed to do?

You've got to find that one thing that's necessary for success: God's will.

Why God's will?

Ephesians 5:15-17 tells us that we should be making every moment of our lives count:

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Many of us live our lives thinking that if we just give our best shot at something, it will make our lives count. No it won't. If any, we'll just be distracted by worthless pursuits that eat up our precious time.

We cannot convince ourselves that if we try harder enough, we'll win. We can't convince ourselves that if we try our hand at many things, we'll find success. It doesn't come that way.

Proverbs 19:21 tell us that "There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel - that will stand." God's will always takes precedence over ours. No matter how much we try our hand at something, if it isn't God's will for us, we can't expect to find satisfaction and joy in it.

In closing

And so, my dear friends, we must do our best first to seek God's will. We should be like wise builders who plan their steps and count their resources before actually starting the work. We should seek God and know His will for us before doing anything.

Knowing God's will through His word and obeying Him will always lead us to success.