One of my favorite quotes is from Theodore Roosevelt who said, “In the battle of life it is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

And as another has said: “It is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.”

However, when we seek and discover God’s plan and purpose for our life and give our all to that noble and worthy cause, we may never get our name emblazoned on the billboards with the rich and famous, and though we fumble and fall a thousand times, as long as we keep getting up and going on, we cannot fail and the results will last for all eternity.

As martyred missionary, Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to see your plan and purpose for my life, give me the courage to pursue it with all my heart, and never to give up knowing that you will be with me to the end. And then, at the end of life’s journey, may I hear your welcome words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV).