TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK

1

ACCEPT YOUR HUMANITY

2

ADMIT YOUR MISTAKE

3

ASSIGN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MISTAKE TO THOSE TRULY RESPONSIBLE

4

REVIEW THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO YOU AT THE TIME OF YOUR MISTAKE

5

IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE YOU PERMITTED TO INFLUENCE YOU DURING THE TIME OF YOUR MISTAKE

6

BE WILLING TO TASTE THE PAIN OF YOUR MISTAKE

7

IDENTIFY THE WISDOM YOU HAVE EXTRACTED FROM YOUR MISTAKES

8

STOP DISCUSSING YOUR MISTAKE WITH THOSE YOU WANT TO FORGET IT

9

MOVE SWIFTLY TO MAKE RESTITUTION WITH ANYONE YOU HAVE WRONGED

10

ALLOW A SEASON OF TIMe FOR YOUR RECOVERY

11

FOCUS ON HELPING SOMEONE ELSE ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS

12

DEVELOP THE MENTALITY OF A WINNER

13

PRACTICE A CELEBRATION ROUTINE AFTER EVERY PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT

14

START YOUR COMEBACK NOW

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
How To Turn Your Mistakes Into Miracles / eB-56
Wisdom Key Books
ISBN 10: 1-56394-730-7 • ISBN 13: 978-1563947308
Copyright © 1997 by MIKE MURDOCK
All publishing rights belong exclusively to Wisdom International
Publisher/Editor: Deborah Murdock Johnson
Published by The Wisdom Center • 4051 Denton Hwy. • Ft. Worth, Texas 76117 1-817-759-BOOK • 1-817-759-2665 • 1-817-759-0300
You Will Love Our Website..! WisdomOnline.com
All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the express written consent of the publisher.

WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK

Mistakes Happen.

This Is A Human World. You will find that mistakes are just a part of your daily life. Mistakes happen on the job, in your choice of friends and even in financial decisions.

Though some mistakes can be devastating, the majority of your mistakes can be turned around for your good!

Yesterday’s failure can become today’s success. Tragedies can become triumphs.

You can change the direction of your life! YOU can step OUT of failure into a victorious and successful life. Your CREATOR and Heavenly Father has anticipated your problems and has laid out a PLAN for turning your mistakes into miracles!!

Your Greatest Mistake Can Become The Golden Bridge To Your Success.

That is why I wrote this book.

ACCEPT YOUR HUMANITY

You Are Not God.

Neither do you have “angel wings.” Your possibilities of making a mistake are one hundred percent.

Your response to your mistakes determines your success.

God anticipated your weaknesses. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust,” (Psalm 103:13-14).

True, some use the flimsy comment, “I’m just human,” as a “copout” and cover-up instead of a motivation for higher principles. But thousands who learn to accept themselves as human beings learn to enjoy life so much better.

Avoid deadly self-criticism.

Accept your humanity as the birthplace for pursuing God and His Divine nature being formed in you.

ADMIT YOUR MISTAKE

Confession Often Silences Accusers.

You Cannot Correct What You Are Unwilling To Confront.

1. Recognize And Admit Any Mistake...To Yourself. Do not justify it. Do not lie to yourself. The Scriptures say: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy,” (Proverbs 28:13).

2. Confess Your Mistake To God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9).

3. Confess The Mistake To Others Who Were Damaged By Your Mistake. “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses,” (Mark 11:25).

4. Do Not Confess Your Mistakes To Anyone Desiring To Use It As A Weapon To Destroy You Or Others. When your confession would destroy a marriage or home, confess to God alone. “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise,” (Proverbs 10:19).

5. Express Your Plan For Restitution And Compensation To Those Who Experienced Losses Through Your Mistake. Who have you damaged? Whose life or income did your mistake hurt? Present your plan for restoring what you have taken. The Zacchaeus Principle is very important. Return four times what you have taken.

The Proof of Repentance Is Restitution.

ASSIGN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MISTAKE TO THOSE TRULY RESPONSIBLE

The Guilty Must Pay.

If others are involved, you must allow them to accept their own share of the blame.

Assuming all responsibility for others opens the door to bitterness, resentment and self-pity. Besides, you actually add to their own success by forcing them to account for themselves. Parents who always “cover” for little Johnny or Susie destroy their children’s opportunity to embrace responsibility. “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying,” (Proverbs 19:18).

“I’ve got to go get my husband out of the bar tonight. He’s drinking again,” a heartbroken, lovely lady told me one night.

I replied, “Why?”

She looked surprised. “Well...uh ...he...uh.”

I said, “If you keep cushioning the fall, he’ll never quit jumping. You’ve got to let him hit the bottom. Then, and only then, will he want to reach for the top.”

Pain Decides Change. Until The Guilty feels loss, they will never change.

Learn from the prodigal son?

The tears of his father did not affect him.

The goodness of his father did not activate him to return.

The stench of the pig pen birthed the desire for change.

God uses two basic motivators in your life: People and Pain.

Don’t Stop The Divine Cycle.

REVIEW THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO YOU AT THE TIME OF YOUR MISTAKE

Memory Is A Gift. Use it.

Obviously, you made a wrong move. What were the options at the time? Could you have done it differently? Did you do your very best? “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28).

- Sometimes what appears to be a mistake was the only possible decision at the time! Don’t waste valuable time on unavoidable circumstances. Perhaps a mistake wasn’t made at all!

- By carefully Evaluating the past, you avoid making the same mistake again.

IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE YOU PERMITTED TO INFLUENCE YOU DURING THE TIME OF YOUR MISTAKE

Everybody Listens To Somebody.

A minister friend once told me, “Mike, I missed God’s perfect will during ten long years of my life.”

“What caused it?” I asked.

“I got overly tired,” he said. “I overreacted to criticism from a disgruntled deacon. I just up and resigned my church before God was finished with my ministry there. It was the biggest mistake of my entire life.”

Fatigue Distorts Judgment.

Are you watching too much television? Neglecting consistent church attendance? Unhealthy friendships? Your ego? Be honest!

Your dreams and goals can be destroyed by listening to the wrong advice.

Even sickness can greatly affect your decision-making.

A frustrated friend may be creating a climate of discontent for you. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed,” (Proverbs 13:20).

- Whose Counsel Do You Treasure Most?

- Whose Advice Do You Consistently Ignore?

- Whose Success Do You Most Admire?

- Whose Wisdom Do You Aggressively Pursue?

- Who Are The Top 7 People In Your Circle of Counsel And Why Have You Chosen Them?

RECOMMENDED INVESTMENT:

Seeds of Wisdom on Relationships (Book/B-14/32 pg)

BE WILLING TO TASTE THE PAIN OF YOUR MISTAKE

Learn From The School of Pain.

There are times God wants us to feel the loss from our wrong choices. In Luke 15, the prodigal son “came to himself” when he became hungry. “He would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat,” (verse 16).

Pain can motivate you. God may allow you to crash! If He cushioned every blow, you would never grow.

However, I assure you, your Father will not allow the suffering and ache to become a permanent feeling. He will use it to develop a humility, a compassion for others and a reminder of why Jesus Christ died on Calvary for the sins of the world: “But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold,” (Job 23:10).

The Psalmist said: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes,” (Psalm 119:71).

Hebrews 5:8 says: “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.”

The Quickest Cure For Ingratitude Is Loss. Don’t leave the scene of pain too quickly. The exposure to pain can create a worthy memory...that protects you for years later.

Those who learn from the pain will succeed beyond their dreams.

RECOMMENDED INVESTMENTS:

Wisdom for Crisis Times (Book/B-40/112 pg)

How to Walk Through Fire And Not Be Burned (CD/CDS-03)

Wisdom for Crisis Times (CD/CDS-40)

IDENTIFY THE WISDOM YOU HAVE EXTRACTED FROM YOUR MISTAKES

If You Are Learning, You Are Not Losing.

Take a sheet of paper. List lessons learned. “...write the vision, and make it plain,” (Habakkuk 2:2). Ask yourself these questions.

- What weaknesses in myself does this mistake reveal?

- What have I learned about others during this time?

- What do the Scriptures teach in regard to my mistake?

Take time to think and to hear with your heart what you can understand through this time of learning. Study the lives of people who made the same mistake and recovered. Focus on what you can do now.

Document secrets learned in your Personal Wisdom Journal.

STOP DISCUSSING YOUR MISTAKE WITH THOSE YOU WANT TO FORGET IT

Silence Cannot Be Misquoted.

A few choice friends will gladly lend an ear as you release your pent-up hurt. You may need it...with the right people. However, it is even more effective to discuss it with God. “In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul,” (Psalm 138:3). “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears,” (Psalm 34:4).

1. Stop Displaying Your Weaknesses Unnecessarily. It magnifies your mistakes. It becomes ammunition in the hands of your enemies. “I am learning, not losing.” Talk to yourself. “He that hath knowledge spareth his words...Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning,” (Proverbs 17:27; 9:9).

2. Be Gentle But Firm In Refusing Others The Liberty To Focus On Your Past Failures. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind...I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 3:13-14).

3. Memorize The Scriptural Solution. “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert,” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

4. Empty Your Energy Into Your Future. Visualize The Future You Desire, Not The Past You Despise.

Anything fed...grows.

RECOMMENDED INVESTMENTS:

Secrets of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived (Book/B-99/179 pg)

Secrets of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived (CD/CDS-25)

MOVE SWIFTLY TO MAKE RESTITUTION WITH ANYONE YOU HAVE WRONGED

The Proof of Repentance Is Restitution.

True repentance involves Restitution—mending broken fences. One definition of restitution is “the final restoration of all things and persons into harmony with God’s will.”

Restitution is a faith-releasing principle that purifies your conscience. It unties the hands of God to work freely in your behalf. “If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep,” (Exodus 22:1). “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold,” (Luke 19:8).

Several years ago, a man was having severe marital problems, stomach pains and could not sleep at night. He broke down and confessed to me that he had embezzled money from his company.

“You must make it right,” I insisted. “Go to your president and totally level with him. Admit your mistake.”

Though he feared losing his job, the man truly recognized the value of restitution. Guess what happened? Not only was he permitted to keep his job, but later received a promotion from the president who respected his openness and new convictions!

Pain is often a passage to a miracle.

My dear friend, Robb Thompson, often shares the miracle testimony following his conversion to Christ. Those who saw the proof of his changed heart were forever affected by his willingness to correct the wrongs.

ALLOW A SEASON OF TIME FOR YOUR RECOVERY

Waiting Is Never Wasted Time.

Time is the Bridge between Seed and Harvest. It is natural to want an instant change in your circumstances. Take for instance, the emotional cycle following a divorce, often creates loneliness, anger, guilt, bitterness, frustration, emptiness, depression and past memories. How do you cope with it? It isn’t always as easy as glib-tongued friends may try to make it appear.

Healing takes time.

Of course, there are things you can do to hasten the healing, just as it is possible to slow your healing process. The wisest man who ever lived said: “To every thing there is a season, and a time,” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

But do not weary of waiting for your complete miracle. Give yourself space: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not,” (Galatians 6:9).

Meanwhile, during “Recovery Zone,” learn all you can, cultivate compassion, exercise faith and develop control in all areas of your life.

Time matters.

Waiting is rarely a waste.

The Willingness To Wait Is The Proof of Trust.

FOCUS ON HELPING SOMEONE ELSE ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS

Somebody Is Waiting For You.

Jesus Christ was our Master Example of concentrating on the success of others. He was a Success-Maker. He reprogrammed the mentality of losers and made them winners.

Jesus Cared About Others

He took the time:

- To compliment (Matthew 8:10).

- To heal the sick (Matthew 8:16).

- To forgive sin (Matthew 9:2).

- To advise ministers (Matthew 10:1-42).

- To teach the unlearned (Matthew 5-7).

- To expose frauds (Matthew 23).

He created success situations for people.

Look around you! What can you do now to be a more effective employee on your job? A loving husband or wife? A more helpful friend?

1. “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it,” (Proverbs 3:27).

2. “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due: custom to whom custom: fear to whom fear: honour to whom honour,” (Romans 13:7).

3. “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free,” (Ephesians 6:8).

Never forget the greatest Wisdom Principle in Scriptural success: What You Make Happen For Others, God Will Make Happen For You! (See Ephesians 6:8.)

You Are The Miracle Someone Is Waiting For.

DEVELOP THE MENTALITY OF A WINNER

You Become What You Think.

So, start hanging “Success Photographs” on the walls of your own mind!

- Picture Health.

- Picture Prosperity.

- Picture a Happy Marriage.

- Picture Overcoming.

- Picture Power.

When You Control Your Thoughts, You Control Your Life: “Whatsoever things are true...honest...just...pure... lovely...of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” (Philippians 4:8).

Visualize What You Want To Materialize!

Some time ago I bought a car. With it, I received an owner’s handbook on how to operate it and solve possible problems. It was to help me enjoy driving my new car, and avoid some frustrating situations.

God, the Creator, provided the same service to you and me to enjoy living in His world. His Success Handbook is the Bible. It is your source for How To Live On Planet Earth. Without it, you may easily sabotage your life.

Read the Bible daily. It will place positive and powerful mind-photographs in your thinking. You will begin to understand God, others and yourself in a beautiful new light!

Say...what God is seeing.

Speak...your expectations, not your experiences.

RECOMMENDED INVESTMENTS:

The Proverbs 31 Woman (Book/B-49/70 pg)

The Greatest Success Habit on Earth (Book/B-80/32 pg)

Secrets of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived (Book/B-99/179 pg)

Secrets of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived (CD/CDS-25/$30)

PRACTICE A CELEBRATION ROUTINE AFTER EVERY PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT

Learn The Art of Celebration.

Greatness Is Turning Pebble Moments Into Memory Mountains.

Learn the art.

When you find a parking space exactly where you wanted...a dress you wanted, on sale for one-half price...a gasoline station open when your tank shows empty—talk about it! Immediately verbalize a big, “Thanks, Father!” Tell your friends!

Appreciate tiny blessings!

Cultivate the “Attitude of Gratitude!”

Look for the good in others.

Look for the good in yourself!

Recognize your own accomplishments, no matter how insignificant they may appear. Jesus told a great truth in Matthew 25 about the Principle of Recognition and Rewards: “...thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things,” (verses 21, 23).

Express thanksgiving for the little blessings. Greater blessings will follow.

Gratitude Creates Joy.

Joy Births Praise.

Praise Decides Divine Presence.

Divine Presence Creates Change.

RECOMMENDED INVESTMENTS:

The Assignment Vol. 1: The Dream & The Destiny (Book/B-74/164 pg)

The Assignment Vol. 2: The Anointing & The Adversity (Book/B-75/192 pg)

The Assignment Vol. 3: The Trials & The Triumphs (Book/B-97/160 pg)

The Assignment Vol.4: The Pain & The Passion (Book/B-98/144 pg)

The Law of Recognition (Book/B-114/248 pg)

START YOUR COMEBACK NOW

You Are Closer To A Miracle Than You Have Ever Been.

Begin today. God linked you to this Wisdom Book! God is a now God. He wants you to become a WINNER... today! Pray this Prayer aloud now:

“Holy Spirit, I need You. I want You. Forgive me for every mistake I have made with my life. I accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Master of my life and receive Your forgiveness. Fill my heart and life with Your peace and joy. I place all my memories of yesterday’s mistakes at the Cross of Calvary. Send the right people into my life this week to help me develop and grow into a powerful champion for You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Write me today! Tell me how this book helped you and ask for your gift copy of 31 Keys To A New Beginning. I know our new friendship will unlock the Miracle of your next Season!

DECISION

Will You Accept Jesus As Your Personal Savior Today?

The Bible says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved,” (Romans 10:9).

Pray this prayer from your heart today!

“Dear Jesus, I believe that You died for me and rose again on the third day. I confess I am a sinner...I need Your love and forgiveness...Come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I receive Your eternal life. Confirm Your love by giving me peace, joy and supernatural love for others. Amen.”

DR. MIKE MURDOCK is in tremendous demand as one of the most dynamic speakers in America today.

More than 17,000 audiences in over 100 countries have attended his meetings and seminars. Hundreds of invitations come to him from churches, colleges and business corporations. He is a noted author of over 250 books, including the best sellers, The Leadership Secrets of Jesus and Secrets of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived. Thousands view his weekly television program, Wisdom Keys with Mike Murdock. Many attend his Schools of Wisdom that he hosts in major cities of America.

Yes, Mike! I made a decision to accept Christ as my personal Savior today. Please send me my free gift of your book 31 Keys to a New Beginning to help me with my new life in Christ.

Mail to:
The Wisdom Center • 4051 Denton Hwy. • Ft. Worth, TX 76117 • 1-817-759-BOOK • 1-817-759-2665 • 1-817-759-0300 You Will Love Our Website..! WisdomOnline.com