Failure is really God's way of saying, 'Excuse me, you're moving in the wrong direction.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28)

Everyone and everything in life has a purpose (Eccl. 3:1). According to Romans 8:28, your purpose constantly calls out to you. You are not an accident in life. Your date of birth, where you were born, conditions into which you were born, your race, the color of your skin, who your parents are, whether they are rich or poor, educated or illiterate; whether you realize it or not, all these things come into play and influence your purpose in life.

US News & World Report has an annual list of "Americas Best Leaders" honoring personalities ranging from business entrepreneurs, to politicians, and directors of nonprofit organizations. These people are selected by an independent committee of judges assembled by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In last year's October 2005 issue, US News profiled 21 leaders that included Bill and Melinda Gates, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and Steve Jobs. Most of them have had very challenging starts in life. And yet, God used even their failures and defeats for the fulfillment of their purpose.

One of the 21 leaders who made the list was Oprah Winfrey. Oprah had a difficult upbringing. The product of a fling between her mother and a passing serviceman, she was raised by her grandmother on a pig farm with no running water. When she moved to Milwaukee, she was sexually abused repeatedly by family friends and relatives. By the time Oprah was 14 years old, she was a rebellious juvenile delinquent who became pregnant. Her baby boy died one week after delivery.

Oprah left school at 19. Because of her good speaking skills, she landed a job reporting news for a television station in Baltimore. But she kept forgetting her lines at news reporting and often interviewed as if she were a talk-show host, crying with the interviewees on TV. Oprah's station management became very unhappy with her conduct on air. They also felt that she did not look glamorous enough; hair too thick, nose too wide, eyes too far apart. To glamorize her image, the station sent her to a New York salon for hair treatment. It turned out that the treatment failed and Oprah's hair fell out. She became bald. Everything was so disastrous that within a year, her TV station told her that she was unfit for prime time news. They then demoted her to a housewives' daytime talk-show.

Just when her career seemed to be heading south, her daytime talk-show became a hit and there was no turning back for her. By 1985, Oprah's program had become the number one talk-show in the world, and she held on to that spot for the next 20 years. Today, Oprah Winfrey is the first American-African woman billionaire in the world. In a recent interview, Oprah said, "Failure is really God's way of saying, 'Excuse me, you're moving in the wrong direction.'" Just change the track you are walking on!

God wastes nothing in your life. Every disappointment can be a new appointment. Every stumbling block can be a new starting block. Every tombstone can be a new stepping stone. When you are walking in your purpose, even when bad things happen, they will all work together for your good (Rom. 8:28).

God has made everything beautiful in its time; He has also planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose, working through the ages which nothing under the sun, but only God, can satisfy] ... (Eccl. 3:11, Amplified).