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.
Rick Grubbs is best known as the host of “Redeeming the Time,” a one-minute radio program featured on hundreds of radio outlets around the world. He has spoken thousands of times on Biblical time management in all 50 states and 26 other countries. He is the author of the book “Morning Momentum: God’s plan for launching an unstoppable day”. He and his wife Carrie live in Salisbury NC with several of their 12 children.
