"It took Thomas Edison a long time to invent the light bulb. The problem was finding the right material for a filament that would glow but not quickly burn in two. There is a story that as Edison was refining his filament, a reporter asked, “Mr. Edison you’ve now tried 5,000 experiments to invent your electric light bulb. Every one of them has failed. Mr. Edison, how does it feel to fail at something 5,000 times?”
Edison replied, “Sir, I have not failed 5,000 times. Rather I have successfully discovered 5,000 ways which do not work.” Thomas Edison understood that it is not the number of times you fail that matters. It is the number of times you succeed, and that depends on how many times you try.
Jesus said that unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it cannot bear fruit. The point is, remembering failure and death of your vision are part of the success process will help you redeem the time.
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"“It is always easier to edit than it is to create.” I came across that little one line motivational quote several years ago and ever since it has been one of the most helpful pieces of advice I’ve ever been given.
Quite often we fail to produce the way God wants us to because we get to a certain point in a project and our creative energy freezes up. We’re stuck staring at a blank piece of paper or an empty computer screen waiting on some great inspiration to overtake us.
When that happens, the solution is to write. Write something. Write anything, just to get the ball rolling. That will allow God an avenue through which to work in your situation. You may not get it perfect the first time, but at least you are going somewhere and making some progress.
Remembering the phrase, “It is always easier to edit than to create.” might be the key you need to redeem the time.
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"If the Devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy, because he knows you’ll be no threat to his territory either way. One of Satan’s favorite tactics is getting Christians overcommitted to good things that do little or nothing to advance the Kingdom of God. Their heart may be in the right place, but they will never inflict great damage Satan’s work because of their own busyness.
One of the greatest challenges pastors and Christian leaders face today is getting people quiet long enough to see their need. Never has there been a time in history when we have had so many interesting little diversions and so many possibilities for using our time.
Don’t let the Devil make you bad or busy. There is a third option. It’s learning to say no to the good so you’ll have time for God’s best.
Just ask the Lord to show you the best way right now to redeem the time.
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"Winston Churchill said, “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” That’s a good definition that fits well with how God defined success when He said in Proverbs that a just man falls seven times, yet rises up again.
One of the biggest wastes of time is the down time that often follows what we consider a discouraging failure. When things don’t go according to plan, Satan tells us that we are a failure, when in reality we may have only experienced a failure. There is a big difference between those two ideas.
Motivation expert Zig Ziglar says a key to staying on top is clearly understanding that, “failure is an event, not a person; that yesterday ended last night and today is your brand new day.” Also one success doesn’t make you and one failure doesn’t break you.
Remember, the final measure of success is whether we will hear God say “Well done” on Judgment Day. That’s reserved for those who redeem the time.
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