Sermon Illustrations

LINCOLN: KEEP TRYING

Let me tell you about a man who made a disastrous first attempt in the world of business. He switched to politics but within only one year that did not work out either. He tried his hand for a second time at business, but failed again. That meant 3 failures in 3 years, (time to give up?). He proposed to his Fiancée after four years of courtship, but she turned him down.

Another woman he was courting died sometime later. All these pressures led to a nervous breakdown, which required 2 years convalescence, after which he re-launched his aborted political career with a bid to be elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the USA. He failed. He was again defeated 2 years later for the position of Elector. 3 years after this, he was defeated as he ran for Congress. 5 years passed before he sought office again, but was defeated. Tragically his 4-year-old son died during this time. That led to 7 years in the wilderness, before running for the Senate - to no avail. However, things looked more positive the following year when he was nominated by his party as their vice presidential candidate, but his running mate and himself were defeated in the general election. He failed 2 years later trying again for a seat in the Senate. However, 2 years later, in 1860, after 24 years of dogged perseverance, Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the U.S.A.!

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