From Failure to Victory

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Had Thomas Edison not been a man of faith, perseverance and determination, we may still be working by gaslight or at least, it may have been many years before the first electric light was seen. It has been reported that Edison failed over 6,000 times before perfecting the first electric light bulb.

On one occasion a young journalist challenged Edison saying to him, "Mr. Edison, why do you keep trying to make light by using electricity when you have failed so many times? Don't you know that gas lights are with us to stay?"

To this Edison replied, "Young man, don't you realize that I have not failed but have successfully discovered six thousand ways that won't work!"

Because Edison believed an electric light was possible, he refused to give up. He tried countless types of material in his search for a filament that would work. He sent men to China, Japan, South America, Asia, Jamaica, Ceylon and Burma to search for fibers to test in his laboratory--all to no avail.

On October 21, 1879, after thirteen months of repeated failures, Edison finally succeeded in finding a filament that would work. While experimenting the thought came to him, "Why not try a carbonized cotton fiber?"

After going through two spools of cotton, he eventually perfected a strand only to break it while trying to place it in a glass tube. He refused to give up and persevered with this idea for two more days and nights without sleep. Finally he succeeded in placing a carbonized thread into a vacuum-sealed bulb! Eureka! It worked.

Are you trying to share the Gospel with someone and they resist? Don’t give up, keep sharing and God will honor it.

Dear Lord, Help us be persistent in the tasks that are in front of us. Help us not give up. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.