Failure is not an option

In 1995 Tom Hanks starred in a movie called “Apollo 13”. It’s based on the true story of a space mission that took place less than a year after Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon. The Apollo 13 space craft was supposed to be the third space craft to land on the moon, but it never made it. In fact, it almost never made it back to earth. Three days into the mission there was an explosion on board that changed a fairly routine mission into a race for survival. It was head astronaut Jim Lovell who reported the explosion to Houston’s mission control with his now famous words “Houston, we have a problem”. Stranded 205,000 miles from earth, in a crippled space craft, the three astronauts on board fight a desperate battle to survive, while hundreds of people down in Houston’s mission control try to figure out a way to bring their men home safely. Gene Kranz was the flight director at Houston’s mission control, and as famous as Jim Lovell’s words are, it was Gene Kranz’s words that were the most significant. In the middle of mission control’s chaos Gene Kranz is heard telling his crew “Failure is not an option”. If you are a history buff like me, or if you have seen the movie, you know that the three astronauts on board the Apollo 13 space craft returned safely to earth. This was due in large part by the experience, creativity and ingenuity of all the engineers and scientists down at mission control who took Gene Kranz’s words seriously. To them, failure was not an option.

The Apollo space missions were the result of man’s desire to go and do things they have never done. They were the result of man’s instinctive desire to go and reach beyond the status quo. We see it in all the great accomplishments throughout the history of mankind; from the pyramids of Egypt to the sky scrapers of New York, and from people like Christopher Columbus to John F. Kennedy who first gave us the vision of man walking on the moon. Man has always had a desire to go farther, build higher, and accomplish more. I believe this instinctive desire for more was instilled in us by God at creation. When I think about the Apollo 13 story I can’t help but admire the leadership of Gene Kranz. I find myself wanting to be more like him when it comes to the mission that God has called me to, and it leads me then to pray for more like him within the body of Christ. As a pastor, I’ve met many people who have given up on their God given mission because of unexpected problems that arose. God gives all of his children a mission to accomplish, and that mission is filled with the wonders and promises of God. It’s a journey that we all travel, and this instinctive desire He created us with helps us to accomplish His mission and experience these promises. When unexpected problems, struggles, and hardships arise however, there are many of God’s people who find themselves in a struggle to survive not knowing then how to complete the mission and reach God’s promises. I’ve seen too many people who know that there is more of God to be had, and who know that there are more of his promises to experience, but the continual struggles of life and attacks of the enemy have overtaken their natural desire to move forward. They find themselves in a place where their God given goals, dreams, and desires seem un-obtainable. It’s a place where growth ceases and they become comfortable with complacency and mediocracy. I’ve seen this happen in people’s marriages, families, careers, as well as churches, and ministries. When this happens, we must continually remind ourselves of the fact that there are always new levels of life, faith, and ministry that God wants us to experience, and during those times we must be like Gene Kranz and tell ourselves “Failure is not an option”.

Our mission from God and the promises of God go hand in hand. I used to see the promises of God as something that came to me if I prayed and waited long enough. However, God has taught me that we experience His promises as we move forward in accomplishing His mission. The promises do not come to us as much as we move towards them. We have probably all heard of the phrase “Life is a Journey” and for the Christian this is no less true. The apostle Paul puts it in terms of a race. In Acts 20:24 (NIV) Paul says “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s Grace”. He also says in Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do". As we move forward in life, faith and ministry; as we continue to run our race, and accomplish the task (the mission) the Lord has prepared in advance for us to do, we come across the promises of God for our lives. However, like the unexpected explosion that turned the fairly routine Apollo 13 mission into a fight for survival, likewise, there are times our journey becomes a fight for survival. In John 10:10 (NIV) Jesus says “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. At Salvation God places us on a pathway to the ultimate promise of Heaven, and while on this path He gives us tasks which he has prepared in advance for us to do. The enemy will do everything in his power to steal, kill, and destroy our ability to accomplish His tasks and reach our promises, but Christ has overcome the enemy. He has given us everything we need to accomplish His mission and experience His promises. Like one of the many people at Houston’s mission control who helped lead the three Apollo 13 astronauts back home safely, my desire is to be a resource that can help you on your journey to accomplish His will and to reach your promises, because for the child of God “failure is not an option”.