Was Thomas Edison a Failure?

“Success is failure turned inside out.” – Bob Williamson

Which of these statements is true…

Abraham Lincoln won every election in which he was a candidate.

Thomas Edison invented the light bulb on his very first try.

Joseph went directly from Jacob’s house to pharaoh’s palace.

Upon his anointing as king, David immediately ascended to Israel’s throne.

The answer, of course, is that none of those statements is true. They are all 100% false.

The truth of the matter is that Abraham Lincoln lost multiple elections, including his first run for the Illinois state legislature in 1832; his re-election bid for Congress in 1848; and his two campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 1854 and 1858.

When Thomas Edison’s assistant complained that their experiments had resulted in abject failure, saying that “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing.” Edison corrected him. “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We now know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, and then falsely accused and imprisoned for several years before being elevated to the position of prime minister.

And David ran for his life, hiding in caves, and reigning in exile before finally being recognized as Israel’s rightful king.

The morale of the story? Don’t give up. When – not if – you fall down, get back up, dust yourself off, and learn from the experience.

“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President