I read this article 'When trying again makes all the difference' from Nehemiah Ministries and I felt like God telling me don't be afraid to try again. Just because I have tried and failed so many times didn't mean that the next time won't be it. I asked Him if I was doing it wrongly and if anything needed to be changed. His response was startling: “You may not need to change a thing.” His answer wasn’t terribly satisfying. It would have been easier to have some concrete area to work on. All the help we need is from the Lord Himself.
The writer said there are times when failure doesn’t mean that we’ve done anything wrong. It is simply that God’s time for success hasn’t yet come for us. God isn’t telling us to change the way we do things, but to wait on him--and in time to try again. But one thing is certain: we’re often ready to abandon a dream long before giving up is justified. Once shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter and the disciples spent an entire night fishing, but caught nothing. In the morning, Jesus appeared on the shore and shouted to these weary, discouraged men, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat.” They obeyed, and their net quickly filled to capacity with fish. What is striking is that Jesus didn’t tell them to do anything that they hadn’t already been doing. He didn’t advise them to change a thing. Undoubtedly, they had spent half the night dangling the net over their boat’s right side! But now they had the one missing element--the command of Christ--and with that they succeeded.
The worst part about failure is that it can cause us to become dreadfully introspective. We browbeat ourselves, wondering, what is it about me that caused this miserable situation? What can I change to keep from blowing it again? When failure offers obvious lessons, we need to learn them and move on. But sometimes a different dynamic is at work. Christ is speaking to you and me as he did with His disciples, telling us to cast the net on the right side. He’s saying, “Don’t do anything differently--simply do it again; this time, because I’m telling you to do it, your efforts will be successful.”
Genesis records a time when Isaac and his servants made three attempts to dig for water in the valley of Gerar. On the first two occasions, native herdsmen quarreled with them over property rights, and Isaac’s men had to abandon the wells after putting considerable effort into digging them. But their third try succeeded, and this time the herdsmen offered no resistance. Isaac named that well Rehoboth (“a broad place”), declaring, “Now the Lord has given us room, and we shall flourish in the land” (Gen 26:19-22). Less hardy souls would have given up after the first or second try, concluding that God didn’t want them to succeed.
Yes, it is difficult to find the courage to make another try. Yet we can meet these challenges when our relationship with Christ is strong and growing. Nothing helps us more than spending regular time alone with Christ, in which we allow him to clarify his will and to stir up our determination. Ask God to give you a heart that is encouraged in Christ and the resolve to take bold steps of faith for him. It’s in that spirit that we can best understand when he’s saying, “Cast the net on the right side.” God wants hope to characterise our lives. We should expect that He will often call us to try again in the face of disappointment. Casting the net on the right side is a vital principle of the Christian life.
Are you on the verge of giving up? Sometime it may be difficult to discern if the Lord wants you to try again or you should simply change course. But like what the writer said, having a close relationship with God will provide us with clarification on His will. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you. God is more willing to answer us than we are to ask Him. And when He made clear His will for your life, set your face like flint toward that finish line, for the goal set before you. And yes, muster up your courage to try again. Who knows this time you may succeed? You really have nothing to lose.
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