There are times when cutting back our service to God isn’t conscience-friendly. There are so many needs across the globe that we often feel obligated to try to meet them all. Isn’t that, after all, what good Christians do? Such a mindset either paralyzes us because we are overwhelmed by the many needs we can’t possibly meet, or burns us out through our attempts to do too much.

To put this issue into Biblical language, we fully embrace God’s kingdom rule, or we become hapless and disposable subjects in the kingdom of darkness.

Doing things for God (and others) is not equivalent to walking with God; truly effective ministry is always a matter of spiritual overflow. Our heavenly Father never calls us to bankrupt our souls to serve others, but to give out of the abundance that flows from a personal relationship with Him.

Failure opens our eyes to our need for something—or Someone—outside of ourselves, giving us a chance to align our lives with the dynamics of God’s eternal kingdom. It’s an opportunity that a perpetually successful person will probably never have. Like it or not, our failures can sometimes be powerful expressions of God’s mercy.