To Those Defeated

“After his deep anguish he will see light, and he will be satisfied.”

Isaiah 53:11 (Common English Bible)

These words are spoken by God. They are spoken of someone who has hit a brick wall. Someone who is defeated. Like many of us, there exists a pervasive sense that if they failed once, they most certainly would fail again. They are not alone. It is likely many of us have experienced defeat following a failure—a defeat that whispers in our ear that we are not enough, that the failure is an assessment of our worthiness. Fear takes up residence inside of us and results in a lack of willingness to try something again. Such a position of the heart, a will to surrender when things get hard and avoid at all costs further failure results in a defeated life. Right here in Isaiah, God promises that the deep anguish of failure may seem like the end, but it is not. When life appears to have reached its end, we are not abandoned. God’s will for each of us is that we prosper. “He will see light, and he will be satisfied.”

Robert T. Kiyosaki writes, “Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.”[i] This is one of the great lessons of history. In science, we think of Thomas Edison, who, following failure after failure, did succeed in inventing the light bulb. In politics, we think of Abraham Lincoln, who met multiple failures, and lost election upon election, before being elected to the United States Presidency. Professional sports are replete with stories of athletes who refused to give up, and because of their refusal to be defined by failure, embraced victory. Each one was driven by failure to continually improve, to do better the next time, until success was theirs. They are unconcerned with impressing anyone, do not worry about being perceived as a failure by other people. One person matters, and only one. That is themselves. Failure is not the end but the beginning. The journey may be long, but they refuse to accept anything but success.

Naturally, refusal to accept defeat demands personal responsibility. Deliberate attention to the particulars of any failure provides guidance on what to change, a recalibration of approach, an expansion of methods, and further development of skill. We may not initially understand the reason for our defeats, but we are responsible for the way we carry our defeats. God promises here in Isaiah that we will be satisfied. But we must be a participant; we must play our part. God holds us responsible for cooperating with God’s work in our lives. Membership in a gym and securing a personal trainer have no power to transform us physically without our participation. Nor is God a genie that grants our wishes apart from our engagement, our struggle, and our consent to join in God’s activity in our lives. Nothing tests us more than our response to failure. The way we take failure is a test of life. It is nothing to fail. It is tragic to surrender to it.

Finally, the promise of satisfaction is much richer than grasping victory, of realizing success in our endeavor. The biblical story of God’s engagement with God’s people bears witness to the truth that defeat increases the value of life. Moses’ forty years in the wilderness was not easy. Moses experiences defeat in his leadership with God’s people. Recall the people who chose to worship a golden calf during the long absence of Moses. The people of Israel experienced defeat. Remember the loss of hope in God’s future for them and a desire to return to Egypt. Every struggle, every disappointment, every defeat was matched by a fresh encounter of God’s grace, God’s patience, and God’s power. Each developed in Moses and the people a stronger relationship with God. In defeat, values were deepened, a nation was made braver, and a relationship with God was taken to a new level. As Israel entered the promised land, satisfaction was theirs.

Joy,

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[i] Amy Morin, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. (New York, NY, William Morrow: An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2017)180.