Failure Doesn’t Have to Be the End

I once heard a story about an aquarium owner.

I don’t know why, but he put a barracuda in the same tank as a goldfish. Under normal circumstances, a barracuda would devour a goldfish in no time. But this tank didn’t have the normal conditions.

A clear glass partition separated the goldfish from the barracuda. Like a snake ready to strike, the barracuda circled round and round until he felt the moment was right—and then bam! He smacked the glass wall like someone trying to walk through a recently cleaned sliding-glass door. There was no meal for him this time.

A couple of hours later, he tried again to no avail. And the next day, he failed again. The aquarium owner got used to the thud sound of the barracuda hitting the partition.

Then there was a day when the owner heard no sound coming from the tank. He checked and saw that both the goldfish and barracuda were doing fine. It was as if the barracuda had given up.

So the owner removed the partition. And the barracuda could have had success, if he just tried one more time. But he never did.

What if you are just one more try away from the breakthrough you have been praying for?

One more job application to land your dream career. One more creative idea to receive validation and fulfillment. One more invitation until the lost family member whom you lose sleep over decides to attend church. One more prayer to God until all heaven breaks loose in your life. So many times, I think we give up when we aren’t called to give up. We are called to keep going.

One. More. Time.

And you might find out that the barrier that has held you back in the past is now gone.

Don’t stop. Don’t give up on God’s dream for you just because you’ve failed in the past.