June 21, Failure does NOT define you
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26.
The Psalmist faced personal challenges against his faith. Doubt overcame Him. Yet, God strengthened him, and brought him victory. Therefore, even in your most personal struggles and failures, there is hope.
So, how do you respond to your own failures? How do you respond when you realize that you just didn’t get it right? Some quickly confess their errors to God and to others, and then move on. Some realize the wrong but fall victim to shame that dictates their self-worth. Yet, others tend to justify their wrong, or ignore their infractions all together while sensing little need to make things right with God or with others.
Do you see yourself in any of the above examples? I fear this is a topic discussed less than necessary, for this represents a painful topic indeed. None of us enjoy admitting that we have failed. In fact, some of the most discouraging and trying moments in life come when we realize that we have fallen short of what we should have done.
How should Christians respond when facing their own failures? I realize one of the first thoughts we may have concerns the “size” of the failure. For a moment, take out of the conversation any predetermined metric that constitutes in your mind whether the failure is big (an enormous lapse in judgement and integrity) or small (something that everyone struggles with and should be “no big deal”), and simply focus on falling short of what God desires concerning what we think, feel, say, or do.
When you realize that you have said something, thought something, or acted in a way that does not please God, consider the following simple steps to peace in the midst of personal failure:
1. Quickly acknowledge your failure and refuse to stand behind any excuse that attempts to justify your wrong. Proverbs 28:13, offers this very necessary counsel: "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
2. Confess to God any specific sin apparent in the failure. "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." (James 4:17)
3. Examine your life to determine what can be learned from the moment of failure. Sometimes examination is private, as God speaks to you from His Word and through His Holy Spirit. But sometimes this may require seeking counsel from a minister, mentor, or friend to provide more objectivity and support. The Bible is clear: “confess our sins one to another” (James 5:16). This verb, confess, expresses continuous action, and strikes a powerful description of accountability and encouragement among the saints.
4. Move forward. Do not become “stuck” in the remorse and guilt. Realize that your failure has not defined you. If God has forgiven you, what right do you have not to forgive yourself? You, as a child of God, are defined by God’s grace. Receive His glorious forgiveness and move forward by faith in His plan and purpose for your life. What an amazing promise we discover in I John 1:9,“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
No, none of us enjoy addressing the topic of failure. But failure is never the last word for the child of God. Even when King David sinned, when the Prophet Elijah seemingly lost faith, or when Peter denied, the failures did not have the last word. God did. Victory came! So, if you are struggling with a past failure, seek the grace and forgiveness of God. He graciously but powerfully desires to move you forward. And, allow the moments of failure to strengthen you. The above examples from Biblical history were not ultimately defined by their failure, nor did they remain in a posture of failure. And, neither should we.
Move beyond failure as God has prescribed. Intently move forward in your personal relationship with Jesus who not only picks you up from your failures but can keep you victoriously from them as well.
Blessings.
READ
Read Psalm 73:1-28 and be encouraged, even in times of personal struggle.
