I don’t like to fail. I want to be able to do things well the first time. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t take my first steps as a toddler until I was almost two years old. But when I did walk, I stood up and went across the room! My sister, on the other hand, at a much younger age, took a few steps and then tumbled over. She almost seemed to enjoy it! And I have noticed that she often approaches life with the willingness to fumble the ball and is better for it! Not me. That feels too risky.
Failure can be scary and the enemy tries to convince us that there is no value in it and therefore should be avoided at all costs. As a result, we tend to sit still until we mitigate all possibilities of “getting it wrong” (which of course, rarely happens) and we end up stuck. There is nothing more tragic than a life left in neutral. God loves it when we trust Him and put His word into practice…even if we have some fender benders along the way!
What if I told you there was beauty in failure?
If I look back at my own life and the things I have learned, I must admit that I experienced the greatest growth spurts when I failed. It’s hard to explain, but my experiences of failure taught me in a way that success never could. I imagine you can relate as you reflect on your life as well.
Here’s the thing…we don’t learn unless we fail. We aren’t refined unless there is some sifting. We can’t grow unless the soil is cultivated and the weeds pulled. We try, we stumble, we observe, we learn, we grow and we go and try again!
Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from trusting God and living out the 7 core practices in your life.
Yes, you should pray…yes, you should gather up more information…yes, you should talk to others about their experiences, hoping to learn from them……but at some point, you actually have to try! And when you do, God wastes nothing! He uses your experience…even your failure…to grow you and display His power and provision.
So…how’s it going? Seriously, if you were to take a look at your life and how you are integrating the 7 core practices, what do you see? Do you do the things that come naturally to you and avoid what makes you uncomfortable? Are you worried about failing? Have you been convinced that somehow failure is wrong and not worth anything? Take some time to sit with God and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you where the fear of failure has stopped you. Ask Him to give you courage and decide what you will do about it…and when. Then, go for it! Give it a try! It will be beautiful…even if you fail!!