Over the years I have learned that God has many ways to make us into the people He wants us to be. But it seems that His preferred method is through resistance. The greater the resistance, the greater the growth. What we see as obstacles to achievement, God sees as opportunities for growth. Disappointment, loss, criticism, failure, humiliation, temptation, depression, loneliness, and moral failure become the means by which we grow strong if we are “trained” by these forces, as the author of Hebrews would say (12:11).

This booklet is mainly about overcoming failure. We will examine two Old Testament men who failed miserably, David and Manasseh, and see how God used their failure to make them strong. We will discover that God wastes nothing in our lives—not even sin.

David Roper