The word failure is full of negative connotations. It’s connected with so many other off-putting words – words like disappointment, inadequacy and inferiority. But, what if I told you that, when it comes to failure, you have been sold a bill of goods? That failure, when viewed from the right perspective, is actually a positive thing – a necessary element in all of your achievements? Would you believe it?

The truth is that failure is the primary building block of every success you’ve ever had. When you were learning to walk, you fell down countless times. Each time you got back up, you were sturdier. The first time you played baseball, you whiffed every ball, but, with practice, you began making contact. When you started driving, you didn’t whip right into your first parallel parking space, did you? You had to back up and try it again.

Life is a process of growing through the failures that shape your ability to succeed. The key is to have the right perspective. If you see failure as a dead end, it will destroy you. If you see it as a stepping-stone to greater things, it will be just that. As the famed American soccer player Kyle Rote, Jr. once said, “There is no doubt in my mind that there are many ways to be a winner, but there is really only one way to be a loser and that is to fail and not look beyond the failure.”

With every failure, you have a choice: you can either use it as an excuse to give up or you can let it grow you up. If you will choose to concentrate on growth, your failure can become a catalyst for moving you closer to the life God has in store. He will use the experience to get you ready for something greater in your future. To help you get there, take these four steps when failure strikes:

1.) Face the emotions associated with your failure. Don’t be surprised by the intense emotions that come along with a setback – and don’t ignore them. Acknowledge the feelings of fear, anger, blame or shame barraging you and make an effort to work through them. Get to the other side so you can focus on the future.

2.) Allow your failure to draw you closer to God. Failure doesn’t separate you from God. He is not disappointed in you and he’s not pointing an “I told you so” finger in your direction. Rather, God wants to use your failure to draw you deeper into his presence.

3.) Identify and learn from the source of your failure. If you don’t learn from your failure, you waste it. Your first step when you fail should be to identify the root of the problem. Once you figure out what caused the failure, glean whatever insight you can from that knowledge. What you learn can be an integral part of your growth.

4.) Find and obey God’s new plan for your life. When you give your failure to God, he will exchange it for a new plan. Rather than preventing you from reaching your potential, failure should be a building block to help you get there.

If you’ll consistently take these four steps, your failures will become the building blocks for the life you’re meant to have. One day, your story of perseverance may be the story that will inspire others to press through and build on failure in search of their own ultimate success.

Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. The 3-year-old church meets at Boca Raton Community High School (I-95 and Glades Rd) each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For more info., visit www.BocaJourney.com. He is the author of 11 books and served for 10 years as a pastor in New York City before moving to South Florida. Each person who visits The Journey Church this fall will receive a free copy of his latest book “Unshakable: Standing Strong When Things Go Wrong,” on which this article is based.

Summer is a time for stepping back from the business of daily schedules and routines; a time for relaxing and rendezvousing with family and friends. But while the hot, hazy days have a way of lulling us into a lazy summer daze, this time of year shouldn’t be all play. If we will choose to be intentional, summer is also the perfect time to reconnect with God and grow spiritually.

The break from the daily grind that this time of year gives us opens the space we sometimes need to refocus our mind and energy on God. You and I can capitalize on summer’s more relaxed atmosphere to make sure we are taking some of the practical steps that will grow faith year-round:

Read Your Bible – Looking for some summer reading? Why not start with the Bible? If you’ve never read much of the Bible, you may be surprised by just how entertaining it is. There’s plenty of drama and intrigue to keep you engaged during your days on the beach. The gospel of Mark is a good place to start. From there, read the rest of the gospels, Proverbs and Paul’s letters to the early church. You’ll find lots to chew on.

Talk to God – The relaxed pace of summer will likely give you more wiggle room in your morning routine. Why not take advantage of this time to start a morning habit of spending a few minutes in prayer. Start your day by thanking God for who He is and all the ways He has blessed your life. Thank Him for all of the good things that are unique to this time of year. Ask Him to draw close to you and direct your summer days.

Spend Time with Other Believers – If church is something that seems to get crowded out of your schedule other times of the year, decide to use the summer to get into the habit of attending regularly. If you do, I bet you won’t want to stop when the fall rolls around. That weekly hour of worship will become something you look forward to.

Don’t spend your summer days in a summer daze. Just like every year, the next three months of fun and sun will be here and then over before you know it. You can choose to drift through these days and get to the fall in no better spiritual condition than you are now, or you can choose to be intentional about using the summer to grow your relationship with God; to do a few simple things that will ensure you are enjoying deeper fellowship with Him when the weather begins to cool down and new routines begin to ramp up.

Let me invite you to start a summer of spiritual growth by attending The Journey’s kick off of God On Film happens June 1. In this engaging series, we’ll be discovering the hidden meaning behind some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. Every first-time guest who attends on June 1 will receive a FREE Cinemark movie ticket. Plus, you’ll receive my latest devotional book, Unshakable. More great summer reading! Hope to see you there!

Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. The 2.5-year-old church meets at Boca Raton Community High School (I-95 and Glades Rd.) each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For more, visit www.bocajourney.com. Searcy is the author of 11 books and served for 10 years as a pastor in New York City before moving to South Florida. Each person who visits The Journey Church this summer will receive a FREE copy of his latest book Unshakable: Standing Strong When Things Go Wrong, on which this article is based.

Has your life gotten off course? Do you wake up in the morning feeling like you should be doing something different with your time, something more? Do you want to find your purpose and accomplish your dreams, but you just aren’t sure how to get started – or how to get started again?

Growing up, most of us have a clear mental image of how our future is going to unfold. We study and work toward that image, convinced we’ll eventually end up with the life we’ve envisioned. But, at some point along the way, many of us get off track. Things don’t go the way we thought they would. Circumstances throw up roadblocks and detours. Eventually, we realize that our vision isn’t lining up with our reality. We aren’t where we want to be.

When we’re staring down disappointment, unfulfilled potential and lack of direction, our minds inevitably turn to questions of purpose and significance. Even if we haven’t considered God’s will much in the past, we begin thinking about His plan for our lives and how it intersects with our daily to-do-lists. If we’ve always been cognizant of God’s will, we start wondering if we’ve missed it somehow.

Does God have a specific plan for your life and mine? Does he care if you’re a doctor, a rock star or a stay-athome parent? Does he care where you live and who you marry? Questions about the extent of God’s involvement in our daily decisions have been debated for centuries. They’re at the heart of the age-old discussion concerning the interplay between God’s sovereignty and our free will. While these questions are deeply nuanced and make for interesting theological conversation, suffice it to say that God does care about the details of your life – and he wants to be involved in those details.

God wants nothing more than for you to know his purpose for you and align yourself with it. When you do, he can bless you abundantly and direct you into the life he has in store. As Scripture explains: The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’ (Psalm 32:8)

If you are struggling with a lack of direction and purpose, rest assured that God has more in store for you than the life you are currently living. He wants to advise and guide you. He wants you to know his will.

What is God’s will? Simple: God’s will is the highest and best plan for your life. It is the direction you would choose if you could see things from His perspective. In your own understanding, you operate with limited information, but God already knows how your story plays out in its entirety. He has the master plan, and he wants to lead you down the best path to all that is in store for you.

You have a choice to make. You can either stumble through each day, filled with the stress and uncertainty that come with operating in your own power, or you can choose to invite God into your decisions and intentionally surrender your life to His will. Submitting to God’s will doesn’t mean things will be perfect. There will still be valleys, but they won’t be as low. And the peaks will be even higher. When you ask God to begin directing your steps, you will finally begin to experience the satisfaction of living the life you were created to live.

Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. The 3 year old church meets at Boca Raton Community High School (I-95 and Glades Rd) each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For more, visit www.Boca Journey.com. Author of 11 books, Searcy served for 10 years as a pastor in New York City before moving to South Florida.

Holiday decorations seem to make an earlier appearance in store aisles and living room windows every year. Even though we’re still just shy of November, you don’t have to look far t o find Christmas trees or tinsel.

While the holidays bring happiness and celebration, they can also be an especially difficult time for those who are hurting or lonely. The reflective nature of the season has a way of magnifying life’s problems.

When holiday blues strike, they can make you want to pull away from the bustle and keep to yourself. Resist that urge. The people around you are there for a reason. Not only can they encourage you when you are feeling low, but the way they see you handling the difficulties in your life can help them in turn. Here are 3 ways to reclaim joy and share your underlying strength this holiday season:

Borrow from others – If you start feeling depleted, be quick to lean on the faith of those around you. Try thinking of your faith like a gas tank. Sometimes, your tank runs low. But, at just the right moment, God brings other people around you who have full tanks. You can borrow from their reserve to make it through. If you surround yourself with a network of strong, faithful friends and family, they will be there to step in with the help you need.

Part of the reason God created the church was to give you a circle of likeminded people, willing to come alongside you when you need support. Let me encourage you: If you aren’t part of a local, Biblically-based church-find one. You need a community of people who will rejoice with you in good times and comfort you in difficult times; people who can lend you their faith and strength when you need it most.

Be a willing witness – There’s power in being vulnerable enough to let your difficulties be seen by others. How you handle hardships can be an incredible witness to other people. Everyone you know is going to face failures, doubts, relationship problems, health issues and other circumstances that have the potential to shake them to their core.

When you show strength in the face of the same types of situations, they will notice … and they will want to know how you do it. They’ll become curious about your faith. When they ask where your strength comes from, be ready to answer:

In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… (1 Peter 3:15)

Part of the good that will come out of your hardest times will be your ability to relate to and help other people who are dealing with similar situations.

Turn Pain into Purpose – God works all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28), all things – even the layoffs, the rebellious kids, the break-ups and the foreclosures. He is constantly weaving every circumstance you face into a beautiful tapestry. Every pain serves a greater purpose; every failure leads to a greater future.Choose to walk through your painful times in a state of awareness and God will show you what he wants to do through them.

Enjoy the season ahead! I pray that it will be a time of joy and celebration with the loved ones in your life.

Nelson Searcy is lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. The 2.5 -year-old church meets at Boca Raton Community High School (I-95 and Glades Rd) each Sunday at 10:30 a.m.. www.BocaJourney.com.

Nelson is the author of 11 books and served for 10 years as a pastor in New York City before moving to South Florida.

Each person who visits The Journey Church in November receives a free copy of his latest book Unshakable: Standing Strong When Things Go Wrong, –on which this article is based..

The start of the school year always brings with it a sense of new beginnings. There’s new work to be done, new friends to make and new experiences to enjoy.

You don’t have to be a current student, or the parent of a student, to appreciate the renewed energy that comes with this time of year. No matter your age or stage in life, the late-summer fresh start is yours to enjoy.

But even with all the excitement that another academic season brings, one thing is for sure: there will also be major doses of difficulty as the year progresses.

Hardships are inevitable. That’s why every new beginning also signals a fresh opportunity to face life’s unavoidable problems with revitalized strength. When the storms of life whip up around you over the next year, here are 3 steps you can take to stand unshakable in their midst:

1) Sidestep Surprise – The situations that have the most power to shake you are the ones that seem to come out of nowhere. When you’re sideswiped by a problem you didn’t anticipate, it’s easy to become vulnerable. So choosing to not be surprised when the going gets tough is key to standing strong.

God never promised that life would be easy, but he did promise to be with you every step of the way. You will encounter trouble in this world, but take comfort in Jesus’ assertion that He has already overcome every trial and tribulation you face (John 16:33). No matter what is going on around you, you have the assurance of his peace.

2) Ask the Right Question of the Right Person, Right Away – When life goes wrong, your first instinct should be to turn to God. Too often, you and I are quick to ask our friends for advice, buy self-help books, or turn inward and start mining our own resources, rather than looking to Him.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these things, they shouldn’t be our first stop for support. When trouble is brewing, our reflex should be to look to God – and to ask Him the right question.

I’m sure you’ve known people in difficult situations who spend their energy questioning God, rather than trusting him. Asking why doesn’t accomplish anything. Try asking what instead. Rather than giving into the common temptation to demand, “Why did you let this happen to me, God?” ask “What do you want to teach me through this?”

3) Embrace Emotions – Once you have given God top priority in the difficulty you’re facing, embrace the emotions you are feeling. Tune in to what’s going on in your heart. God gave you your emotions; he doesn’t expect you to ignore them. You don’t have to plaster on a smile and muscle through. As you lean into God first, and then embrace the emotions that your situation is stirring, he will use what you are feeling to draw you closer to himself.

Staying steady when things get hard has nothing to do with how strong you are and everything to do with how strong God is.

No matter how smart, rich, connected or resourceful you consider yourself to be, you can’t make it through life’s toughest storms unscathed on your own. But as you build your life on the foundation of God’s strength and take these practical steps in every difficult situation you face, you will be able withstand whatever comes your way during this new year of fresh possibilities.

Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. The 2.5 yearold church meets at Boca Raton Community High School (I-95 and Glades Rd) each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For more, visit www.boca journey.com. He is the author of 11 books and served for 10 years as a pastor in New York City before moving to South Florida. Each person who visits The Journey Church in September will receive a FREE copy of his latest book “Unshakable: Standing Strong When Things Go Wrong” — on which this article is based.

As Floridians, you and I are well aware of the damage that can be caused by a powerful storm. With hurricane season approaching our own shores, we’ve watched with empathy as the people of Oklahoma have faced the destruction and aftermath of last week’s tornados. Unfortunately, devastating storms are an unavoidable part of life in certain areas of the country. As long as we live in their path, we run the risk of coming face-to-face with the havoc they wreak.

Still, while natural storms like hurricanes and tornados aren’t easy to weather, they often pale in comparison to the other types of storms we face throughout our lives – the difficult situations and unexpected circumstances that whip in and leave us shattered.

Marriage problems, illnesses, financial crises and the death of loved ones are just a few of the storms we’ll all have to deal with at some point. Communities can be rebuilt and buildings restored, but these personal storms have the potential to damage us in unseen, irreparable ways.

As a pastor, I’ve had the opportunity to work with thousands of people facing the hurt, loss and confusion that are often the result of life’s storms. When listening to what they’re going through, and when facing difficulties in my own life, I’m always reminded of a principle I learned while riding out a literal hurricane years ago: You and I can survive the storms of life if we have the right foundation. Storms will come, but we can be unshakable in their midst.

When the storms of life hit, the first and most important thing you can do is make sure you are building your life on a solid foundation. Whether you realize it or not, you are building your life on some sort of foundation – one that reflects whatever it is you have faith in. And you do have faith in something. We all do; we all have a set of beliefs through which we filter the world. Over time, those beliefs become our bedrock.

What do you have faith in? Yourself? Your spouse? Your business partners? A religious tradition? Karma? The universe? If your faith is built on the right foundation, you’ll be able to stand strong through life’s most intense disasters. But if you put your faith in the wrong place, you will struggle when difficult circumstances come and, all too often, collapse completely when the strongest storms start raging.

The only foundation capable of withstanding life’s storms is a foundation of faith in God and his son, Jesus Christ. In the scriptures, Jesus himself says: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me, (John 14:5-7). Later, he asks his disciples: Who do you say that I am (Mark 8: 29). Eventually, we all have to answer the same question; we all have to make a decision about who we believe Jesus is. Who do you say he is?

When you make faith in Jesus your foundation, God will give you what you need to face everything this life throws your way. When things go wrong, you won’t be anxious; you’ll let yourself rely on God’s strength.

You’ll have the confidence to move forward, knowing that he is protecting you and that he has a plan for your future. From this solid foundation of faith, you’ll be able to weather every storm, making it to the other side of each one stronger for having taken the journey.

Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton.

You’re invited to attend The Journey this Sunday, June 2 for the kick-off of the new GOD ON FILM teaching series — where you will discover the meaning behind the biggest summer blockbuster movies. Every firsttime guest will receive a FREE Cinemark movie ticket.

The Journey meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at Boca Raton Community High School (Glades Rd. and I-95, exit 45, beside Whole Foods).

Learn more at: www.Boca Journey.com