Week of March 30 – April 5 Lessons from Failure — Man as Instructor
“‘See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ … Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 1:21, 26
Some of you may remember the famous opening of ABC’s Wide World of Sports: “The thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat.” No video clip captured that agony more than ski jumper Vinko Bogatej flying off the ramp and crashing in spectacular fashion. For years, his failure was replayed again and again.
Obviously, most men don’t want to be remembered by their greatest failures. I know I don’t. Yet the Bible often highlights real people’s failures to teach us valuable lessons. The apostle Paul wrote, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Cor. 10:11).
Before the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering, Moses reminded them of a defining moment in their history—not of triumph, but of failure. God had done everything for His people. He had delivered them from Egypt, guided them through the wilderness, and provided for their needs. When they first reached the edge of the Promised Land, He had given them a simple command: “Go up and take possession … do not fear” (v. 21).
However, the Israelites failed to trust God and let fear take over. As a result, they refused to obey Him: “You would not go up, but rebelled” (v. 26). The consequences were devastating: 40 years of wandering, wasted lives, and a lost generation. This failure was not a passing moment; it became a lasting legacy, one that is referenced in both the Old and New Testaments. Much like Vinko’s failed ski-jump was played repeatedly on Wide World of Sports, the Israelites’ failure plays on loop throughout the Bible.
What happened in the wilderness still happens today in our homes. When men fail to lead spiritually, truth is not taught, faith is not modeled, and failure is not addressed in a redemptive way. The result? A generation grows up uncertain, ungrounded, and often disobedient—not necessarily because they have rejected the truth, but because they were never consistently shown it. Unlearned failure becomes repeated failure.
God has called us not only to believe in the truth but also to teach it. Moses’ teaching in Deuteronomy serves as a guide to help the next generation avoid past mistakes. That is our role. We must teach God’s Word in our homes, view life through a biblical perspective, and help the next generation learn from both victory and failure. When rightly utilized, failure can become one of our greatest opportunities for growth.
Israel failed, but Moses used those failures as a teaching tool. We must do the same. When we fail—and we will—the key question is not whether we failed, but whether we acknowledged our failure honestly. Did we point back to God’s truth? Did we teach those under our care what went wrong and why? Men who ignore failure pass on confusion, but men who explain failure pass on wisdom.
What are you passing on? Are you speaking truth to the next generation? Are you allowing failure to linger, or are you turning it into a learning opportunity? You might not lead a nation like Moses, but you do have an audience: children, grandchildren, younger men, teammates, anyone watching your life. And they are learning—not just from your words but also from your actions.
Do not let your story or your family’s story be defined by the agony of defeat. Step into your role as Instructor and trust God to use even your failures as a lesson to build a legacy of faithfulness.
· Are you intentionally teaching those in your care? How would you rate yourself as an instructor?
· How do you handle failure (whether it’s your own or someone else’s)? Do you see it as a waste, or do you use it as an opportunity to learn and grow?
· Pray and ask the Lord for guidance in connecting Scripture with your experiences of failure. Then, pray for the wisdom to share insights that lead to growth.
“‘See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ … Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 1:21, 26
Some of you may remember the famous opening of ABC’s Wide World of Sports: “The thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat.” No video clip captured that agony more than ski jumper Vinko Bogatej flying off the ramp and crashing in spectacular fashion. For years, his failure was replayed again and again.
Obviously, most men don’t want to be remembered by their greatest failures. I know I don’t. Yet the Bible often highlights real people’s failures to teach us valuable lessons. The apostle Paul wrote, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Cor. 10:11).
Before the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering, Moses reminded them of a defining moment in their history—not of triumph, but of failure. God had done everything for His people. He had delivered them from Egypt, guided them through the wilderness, and provided for their needs. When they first reached the edge of the Promised Land, He had given them a simple command: “Go up and take possession … do not fear” (v. 21).
However, the Israelites failed to trust God and let fear take over. As a result, they refused to obey Him: “You would not go up, but rebelled” (v. 26). The consequences were devastating: 40 years of wandering, wasted lives, and a lost generation. This failure was not a passing moment; it became a lasting legacy, one that is referenced in both the Old and New Testaments. Much like Vinko’s failed ski-jump was played repeatedly on Wide World of Sports, the Israelites’ failure plays on loop throughout the Bible.
What happened in the wilderness still happens today in our homes. When men fail to lead spiritually, truth is not taught, faith is not modeled, and failure is not addressed in a redemptive way. The result? A generation grows up uncertain, ungrounded, and often disobedient—not necessarily because they have rejected the truth, but because they were never consistently shown it. Unlearned failure becomes repeated failure.
God has called us not only to believe in the truth but also to teach it. Moses’ teaching in Deuteronomy serves as a guide to help the next generation avoid past mistakes. That is our role. We must teach God’s Word in our homes, view life through a biblical perspective, and help the next generation learn from both victory and failure. When rightly utilized, failure can become one of our greatest opportunities for growth.
Israel failed, but Moses used those failures as a teaching tool. We must do the same. When we fail—and we will—the key question is not whether we failed, but whether we acknowledged our failure honestly. Did we point back to God’s truth? Did we teach those under our care what went wrong and why? Men who ignore failure pass on confusion, but men who explain failure pass on wisdom.
What are you passing on? Are you speaking truth to the next generation? Are you allowing failure to linger, or are you turning it into a learning opportunity? You might not lead a nation like Moses, but you do have an audience: children, grandchildren, younger men, teammates, anyone watching your life. And they are learning—not just from your words but also from your actions.
Do not let your story or your family’s story be defined by the agony of defeat. Step into your role as Instructor and trust God to use even your failures as a lesson to build a legacy of faithfulness.
· Are you intentionally teaching those in your care? How would you rate yourself as an instructor?
· How do you handle failure (whether it’s your own or someone else’s)? Do you see it as a waste, or do you use it as an opportunity to learn and grow?
· Pray and ask the Lord for guidance in connecting Scripture with your experiences of failure. Then, pray for the wisdom to share insights that lead to growth.