What failure produces

“…For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. …” Proverbs 24:16

I’ve always admired people who aren’t afraid to fail. You know the ones who don’t even consider defeat when they blow it; people who see a personal setback as just another goal to conquer.

I can be really hard on myself when I fail to be the woman God calls me to be or the woman I want to be. Like the other day, when I disappointed a friend, got impatient with my co workers and spoke harshly to one of my coworkers. Soon after, my internal dialogue (you know that voice in your head that won’t let you off the hook) started reminding me of how badly I’d acted and how far I’d fallen short that day.

The greatest defeat comes when I allow my mistakes, sins or broken relationships to convince me that I might as well give up.

Perhaps we all have at some point allowed failure to knock us down, tie us up with the ropes of regret and hold us hostage.

I saw a survey of over 1200 women that discovered that our past failures, and our fear of failing again, are two of the most common things that make us doubt ourselves.

But today I read Proverbs 24:16 and saw that it’s not supposed to be this way. Proverbs 24:16 has helped me release the regret, guilt, fear and shame that have weighed me down and held me back.

Take a minute to read it now and notice how it says the just (righteous- from my foot notes ) will fall. Yes, even those of us who have received the gift of Christ’s righteousness and redemption will fall down. But we were never intended to stay down.

Instead of giving up, Jesus empowers us to get up again.

In getting up, we can apologize and ask for forgiveness. In getting up, we can choose to try again with our friends, in our jobs, in our relationships , in our ministries, and in all of our mistakes. Because we trust that although we fall, God will help us up.

Listen to His promise in Psalm 37:23-24 and as you read it insert your name in the blanks:

“The steps of ________ are ordered by the Lord, and He delighteth in __________’s way. Though ____________ falls, __________ will not be utterly cast down , for the Lord upholdeth ________ with hishand.”

When you get up again failure can actually help you become the confident person God created you to be because it can make you stronger and better—when you go to God for help. Failure might even be the thing that stretched you to do more than you think you can and push you to try other methods of doing things when one way doesn’t work.

Yes, failure can be hurtful, but it can also be beneficial.

Failure produces wisdom when we ask for it and maturity when we learn from it.

I think God wants us to remember that following Him is not about avoiding failures and being perfect. It’s about accepting our weaknesses and becoming more dependent on His perfect love and power at work in us.

The truth is, we will sometimes fail to be who we want to be. But we will get closer to who we are meant to be every time we fall or fail and then choose to take God’s hand so we can get up again!

Father God, I’m so thankful for Your grace that reminds me there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because my steps are established by You, Lord, I will believe that You delight in me even when I fail or fall. Today, I want to take Your hand and trust Your heart as You pull me back up again and use my failures to help me become the confident woman You created me to be.