Have you ever identified yourself as a failure? 

 

After 2 divorces, failure was an easy label to wear. 

 

Two years after my second divorce, on my wedding day of marriage #3, the failures of my past haunted me. I remember battling depression that day because in the back of my mind, this marriage was probably doomed to failure too. 

 

Honestly, if nothing had changed, that marriage would have also been doomed to failure. My track record was not good. My default setting: Run from the hard stuff. However, I truly desired a healthy, happy marriage. The question was, “Could I have that?” 

When Everything Changed

 

Six months after I said, “I do” for the third time, I said, “Yes” to Jesus. My life had not gone so well on my own. As captain of my own ship, I sunk two marriages.  I did not want to do it again, but I knew I needed help. Not human help. Counselors and human help had failed me as well. I needed someone bigger, stronger, and smarter than me. So I turned to Jesus. 

 

Let’s look at another woman’s story whose life changed because of Jesus. John 4:4-29 tells her story. I call her the thirsty woman with a messy life. In fact, I so identify with her. You might say, she is my kindred spirit of Scripture. She and I both knew the pain, shame, and failure of multiple divorces. And yes, both our reputations were tainted, but we both longed for something we could not seem to find. Until Jesus stepped into our lives. 

 

Her Story: 

 

In John 4:4-9 we see that Jesus went with intention to a specific place, at a specific time, to meet with a specific woman. This was a divine appointment. Why? Because this woman mattered to Jesus! 

 

You see Acts 10:34 tells us that Jesus is no respecter of persons. Our degree of failure does not dictate whether or not Jesus wants to help us with our messes. 

 

We see Jesus’ heart and intention toward those with messy lives in Matthew 9:10-12. Here Jesus dined with “tax collectors and sinners.” When questioned about why He dared socialize with them, Jesus responded, 

 

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Matthew 9:12

 

Jesus came for those in need. And failure doesn’t change that fact!

 

Back to Her Story 

 

In John 4:10, Jesus offered this thirsty woman with a messy life a drink of living water, i.e. His overcoming power, the Holy Spirit. Jesus offers each of us that same drink. The Holy Spirit in us empowers us to overcome our failures and identify ourselves with Christ and His identity rather than our failures. What an amazing gift that is to someone who wears FAILURE as their label! 

 

Then, in true Jesus fashion, in John 4:15-18 He addressed her failures of 5 past husbands and the current man she lived with. Jesus will always address our sin and our failures, not to condemn or shame, but to change. He wants us to face our failures that we learn from them and move on to victory. Without facing our failures, we can’t overcome them. But let me remind you what Scripture says about how we overcome. 

 

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. 

And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.

1 John 5:4

 

 

Faith in Jesus is our Victory over Our Failure

 

In John 4:25-29, this thirsty woman with a messy life speaks words of faith saying, “I know that Messiah is coming” and “when He comes, He will tell us all things.” 

 

Jesus responds, “I who speak to you am He.”

 

This encounter with Jesus caused this woman to leave behind what she came with and go back to her city telling everybody about Jesus and that he knew the details of her story. Amazingly, she was excited that Jesus knew her failures. 

 

Maybe she was excited because all her life she longed for someone who would:

 

-       know her deficiencies and failures and love her anyway.  

-       not be ashamed of her because of her deficiencies and failures. 

-       show her a different way than she had ever known before. 

 

That’s what you get when you say “Yes” to Jesus. 

 

When I think about my own story of saying “Yes” to Jesus, I had no idea what help and hope Jesus would bring to my failed life. June 3, 2020 was my 25th anniversary. Not only have my husband and I stayed married, we also learned to enjoy marriage. Has it been hard at times? Absolutely! 

 

We went through a season about our 10-year mark, where I wondered if we would make it. I believe with all my heart, it was my commitment and my husband’s commitment to Jesus “first” that carried us through those difficult seasons. 

 

·      How I overcame 2 failed marriages? Jesus! 

·      How I stayed married for 25 years? Jesus!

·      How my husband and I learned to enjoy our life together? Jesus! 

 

Jesus changes everything.

A real encounter with Jesus opens our eyes to see as never before. Jesus gives us beauty for ashes. He changes the course and direction of our life, and He gives us power to turn our failures into successes. One of the most amazing results of a real encounter with Christ is our new identity. 

 

I once identified myself as a failure. Now I am redeemed and restored. 

 

If you are in Christ but you also know the failure of divorce, remember that your faith in Jesus positions you as an overcomer. No longer do you wear a Failure label, but instead you have an “in Christ” identity that makes you Victorious.

 

Remember that in Christ, we are not who we were. We are not the sum of our failures nor or we ourselves a failure. Jesus makes us new and gives us new opportunities as His new creation. In Christ, we are the sum of His perfect work which also gives us the victory! 

 

Let’s walk in that identity! Don’t let the devil steal from you another minute keeping you focused on the failures of your past. You’ve got places to go, people to see, and a message to share.