I don’t like to fail. I want everything I do to be a resounding success. If I’m in God’s will, all I do will be successful, right? Not necessarily.

Perhaps the best known of all underdog stories is when the shepherd boy David faced the giant Goliath. The Bible records that going out to meet the giant, David took five stones from the streambed. Most people retelling the story assume that David hit Goliath on the first shot. But Scripture (I Samuel 17:38-54) says “a stone” hit the giant. The Bible doesn’t say it was the first stone. Maybe the second, or third, or fourth, or fifth stone struck Goliath.

Or maybe it was the first stone. Which stone hit Goliath doesn’t really matter. The point is that David’s faith was such that he was prepared to fire until he brought the giant down. Everyone has had disappointments. I believe that the most mature faith, the faith God uses, is prepared for initial failures.

Failures may be God’s way of teaching us or keeping us humble. Or failures may be an indication that we are not doing things exactly God’s way. Thankfully, God leaves us a profound promise, “… we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) God may use our faith in initial failure for success beyond anything we had hoped.