He-Said-She-Said, Got God By The Hand? – He Said | I Begat What? – She Said

Last week I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with best selling author Bruce Wilkinson. Bruce stood behind a partition, waiting to go on stage. I stood beside him, straining to hear God’s voice. Neither of us spoke, but we both share a common bond: we’ve failed our way to success.

Bruce explained to the audience of writers how his first magazine folded after just five issues. “When that first magazine ceased publication, I was certain of only one thing — I’d never produce another magazine.” Some months later Bruce did produce another periodical, albeit reluctantly. In 1978 Bruce launched Daily Walk and his ministry as a writer, speaker, and publisher exploded. “Had that first magazine succeeded, I might have been tempted to take credit for its success and that of Daily Walk. But that failure left no doubt in my mind as to who deserved the glory.”

I, too, have launched and lost money in publishing ventures and each experience revealed the limits of my abilities and need for God in the planning process.

What does it mean to create and fail in the thing God has called you to? What does it mean to begot and not have success? Abraham begot Isaac in his old age, but the pause between God’s promise and the fulfillment of His purpose through Abraham, spanned decades and caused him to doubt the accuracy of God’s vision, the faithfulness of His word, and the goodness of His plan.

The day after I heard Bruce speak, I walked to the summit of Chimney Rock and stood on the mesa overlooking the terracotta stratus of New Mexico’s brown and tan mountains. A cold westerly wind drove me to the edge. This is the thing we fear: falling. We near the summit and recoil, afraid we’ll slip.

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