Failure is a funny thing. It is something for which you don’t plan. It is a happening in which you feel defeated and low. Yet it is also an event in which offers an opportunity. The opportunity learn, to grow, to trust and to excel.
Personal development leaders often say that failure isn’t a label, simply an event. You are not a failure, you just failed at something you tried. Jim Rohn says,
“Failure is feedback — feedback through which you can grow and learn and prepare for the next act of stepping out.”
I like that. Especially today when I’m feeling a bit like a failure. My timeline of achievement has once again been thwarted. Some of my endeavors have been rerouted and others, I’ve frankly dropped the ball.
The opportunity for me to wallow is there but I choose 2 Corinthians as my framework for my response:
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
My weakness — His strength. My confusion — His clarity.
Maybe today, the effects of failure are heavy on you. Maybe you are struggling to tear off the ‘failure-label’ from your emotional lapel. Maybe your past keeps tapping you on your shoulder, wanting to remind you of regrets.
Don’t let it. Failure is God’s way of making you better — making you stronger — making you more Christ-like. Because in his cross — the ultimate symbol of failure — we find victory and redemption.
Peace!
