Most of us hate to fail and as a result will go to almost any extreme to avoid it. One of my professors would often remind us that we were all born failures, from God’s perspective. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men (Romans 5:6, 18a). Everyone, then, will embark on one of two paths. We will either do everything we can to prove God wrong, or we will blame everyone we know for our being born a failure.
The result of either of these two paths is a life of performance-based acceptance. The odd thing about this is that after salvation, we are now as accepted by God as we will ever be...to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV)
So, what does it mean to be accepted by God? In Hebrew the word is “ratsah” which is used approximately 60 times in the Old Testament and it means "to be pleased, be pleased with, accept favorably, satisfy.”
When “ratsah” expresses God being pleased with someone, the English versions often translate it as to "be delighted," which seems to reflect a sense of even greater pleasure. For example, Proverbs 3:12 (NLT) tells us the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
The noun “ratson” means “favor with” or “pleasure toward.” This word represents the position one enjoys before a superior who is favorably disposed toward him. In Leviticus 1:3 when the male goat is sacrificed it is that he may be accepted before the Lord; or “favorably disposed.”
Thus, acceptance is God’s favor toward us because of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament. This sacrifice provided us covering for a year, and then it had to be repeated. In the New Testament Covenant, Christ became our Sacrifice, once for all time and needs no replication.
Thus, our failures now are God’s hand at work displaying to us how far we have wandered away from trusting in Him. The pain can be horrific and the damage great, but the acceptance never changes. How do we know this?
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one an aroma of death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life (2 Cor. 2 14-16)
Therefore, God’s purpose in our failure is to reveal the truth that, in Christ we are a complete success. And surrendered to Christ we will live in complete success!
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions God gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. (Joshua 1:7 NLT)
Are you feeling overwhelmed by your failures? Give us a call at 864-224-5557 or click on the Counseling button below. We would love the opportunity to show you how completely accepted you are by God in the midst of failure.