Isaiah 40:31 (NLT), “But those who trust in the lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Failure is defined as an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success. This is a word that scares so many of us. Each of us is taught from a young age to do our best, to win, to complete whatever it is we pursue. Failure is not something any of us was taught is an acceptable thing. No one ever says they want to be labeled a failure. So this dreaded “F” word becomes something to avoid at all cost.
The problem with this train of thought is for us to become all God has called us to be, we will experience failure. To be our best at whatever pursuit God has placed on our heart, we will have to go into new unexplored territory and push ourselves more than we imagined. And yes there will be times when we fall flat on our faces and fail. But that is where the true journey begins for us, will we let the story end with that failure or will we get up from it and keep moving forward toward our dream?
The following quote is attributed to Michael Jordan, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” The reason for his great success is because he never let the failures, or possibility of failure, keep him from playing the game. Understand that in life you will experience failure, it’s inevitable. Failure will come but if the goal you are pursuing is worth it, you will not let that deter you. What you will do is pick yourself up, learn from the failure and move forward better from it.
I’ve failed during many times in my 47 years on this earth, probably too many times to count or remember. 🙂 But I look at where my life is now and I know this would not be possible if I had not gone through the failures. If I had not learned from my many mistakes and become a better version of myself from it, I would not have the blessed life I have now. And the funny thing is, I know there are more failures to come. I know that because God has more He wants me to pursue, and some of those pursuits will take me to uncharted waters. Inevitably because of that I will face times when I fail, but I’ve set it in my mind that failure will not stop me from becoming all He calls me to be. I want the blessed life He has for me!
How many times have you not stepped out to pursue something on your heart because you feared failure? How many times has God opened a door for you but you failed to step through because it was new to you and you were afraid to fail? I believe fear of failure is a tool the enemy uses to keep you from reaching the blessed life God has for you. God cannot take you where He wants you to go if you are afraid to follow. Call on Him for strength in those times as it says in Psalms 138:3 (NLT), “As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.”
Don’t let failure or a setback in your life be the end of the story. Each of you have the choice when you fail to either quit or keep going. What will you choose when the failure comes?
Truth In Love! ~ Chuck