But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
From the time he made his major league debut in 1890, Denton “Cy” Young was recognized as one of the best pitchers in baseball. His durability meant that he pitched far more games than pitchers do in the modern era, and in his career Young won more than 500 games as he became the standard against whom all others were measured. In 1956 following his death, the Cy Young Award was established. Each year, baseball writers vote to give that award to the best pitcher in the National and American Leagues. While the award is a worthy honor and remembrance of a great player, there is another side to the Cy Young story. He lost more games than anyone else who has ever pitched in professional baseball. He gave up more runs than any other pitcher. And he allowed the most hits of any pitcher in history. None of those “failures” kept him from keeping on.
All of us will sometimes fall short and fail. We will sometimes do things we shouldn’t. We will sometimes fail to do what we should. We will sometimes say the wrong thing or take the wrong approach. None of that means we should give up and quit. There is new strength from the Lord for the battles of tomorrow. There is new hope in God’s power and presence for the next victory. No matter how many times we stumble, we should get back up. “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” (Proverbs 24:16). Failure does not mean the end of the story unless we allow it to be the final word.
