Everyone runs from the F word… Failure. No one wants to hear that they’ve failed at anything in life because failure brings about many uncomfortable emotions.
Some people will never try because of the fear of failure. To some people, the possibility of failure is a much greater risk than actually taking a step and trying. To others, failure opens the door to all of the painful wounds and experiences of the past.
What if I told you the only way to win is to fail? What if I told you that failure was the precursor to winning and success? Perception is everything. See, instead of looking at failure as a loss, how about looking at it as a win? How about looking at it as gathering data so that the next time you try, you’ll be that much closer to winning?
They say, if something doesn’t work out and you have to start over, you’re starting over from experience and not from scratch.
Our perceptions shape our reality. If you believe that you’re a failure, you will be a failure. No matter what comes into your life that’s good, you’ll always see it as failure because you’re seeing things through the lenses of what you perceive as reality.
Change Your Perspective
Take control over your mind and change your perception! You will never win if you’re scared to take a step. You’ll never win if you have the fear of losing in the back of your mind. When things don’t go our way, we automatically refer to it as the devil or get upset. What if God allowed that thing to happen to protect you from harm? What if He knew that if He gave you what you asked for at this time, you would lose it because you weren’t ready yet? What if He knew that what you asked for would bring temporary happiness but permanent grief? When you really think about it, you see how selfish and self centered we can be. Our faith tells us that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD, yet at the first sign of an unfavorable circumstance, we crumble and stop trusting God. It breaks my heart on the number of times that I’ve done this. I think about how much God loves us, yet at the first sign of “failure” we indirectly question His plans and the love that He has for us.
Fear is CRIPPLING
Fear places us in a state of paralysis. Fear is like consciously choosing to imprison yourself. It has been said that the Bible tells us to not fear 365 times. God knew that there would be many things in this world that would cause us to fear which is why he reminds us not to fear. He’s always with us, leading and guiding us. God understands us more than we understand ourselves. Oftentimes we allow the fear that our thoughts cause us to stop us in our tracks. But I have a secret for you.
Do it Afraid!
You can do it afraid. Fear and all, you can still do it! Failure is part of the journey. It is not the destination. The only way that you stop is if you’ve reached your destination and I know no one asks for directions to a dead end when seeking help. There will be times that you fail. You will try. You will give something your all and it just might not turn out the way you expected it to turn out and that’s ok. You collect that data, analyze what went wrong. Figure out the parts of it that went right and you try again. The destination has not been reached so why give up?
There’s so much life in you. God has given you so many talents that are uniquely designed just for you. He loves you that much that he understands your struggles. He understands your emotions. He understands that your frustrations in failing isn’t a lack of gratitude, it’s simply frustration. God understands that we aren’t perfect. We are human. He wants us to know that He’s with us every step of the way. Even in our anger, he’s there. In our frustrations, he’s there. In our moments of weakness and sadness, he’s there. He wants us to trust Him. To lean on Him.
Your Way vs The Way
Sometimes we put too much on ourselves and God is saying… “If you will only trust Me.” Trust that no matter which direction you go on the path, God is right there with you. He wants to lead and guide you. One thing I learned by going through things was sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Sometimes we place constraints on ourselves by having tunnel vision towards something we really want instead of denying our flesh and asking God for His will to be done. Instead of including God first, we set our hopes and dreams on something and never think twice on if this is even what God desires for us to have. Then we plead and beg to get it. When pleading and begging doesn’t work, we go to God. We ask for signs. God gives us all of the signs we need, but we ignore them because it is not the outcome we want.
Change Your Process
After having a desire for things, pleading and begging God, and praying, I learned that it wasn’t “failure” that was the issue. In fact, nothing was failing. The issue was my process. I failed to include God as the head of my life. I had to change my process to live out my purpose according to what God had for me.
The process has to change! Instead of leading with your own wants and being so specific in your prayers, you have to place God at the top as the head of your life. Pray for His will to be done in your life and watch things change! God knows much more than we could ever imagine. He is in the present and future at the same time. He wants your full attention.
Pray!
Lord thank you for being with me on this journey. Thank you for aligning every moment up to now for what I’m believing in you to do. In moments of the unknown, help me to trust in Your plans and purpose for my life. Remind me that Your wisdom surpasses my understanding, and Your ways and thoughts are higher than mine.
Lord forgive me for the times where I lean on my own logic and doubt your goodness and sovereignty. Teach me to surrender my worries and fears to you. Help me to hear your voice and drown out the sounds and distractions of the world.
Thank you for being my refuge and strength. I choose to lean and trust in You.
Thank you Jesus, Amen.
We’ve Got Work To Do
In order to redefine failure, you have to change your perception on what failure truly means. Failure is part of the journey and sometimes what we see as failure in our human eyes is just the thing that God wants to use for our good in our purpose!
For more tips, tricks, and advice, please visit the other topics on the site.
***If you are new here, leave a comment and say hello! Let me know how you are going to redefine “failure” and see things through the lenses of faith!
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Do it afraid! The best advice wish I would have did it sooner omg and more praying! This was much needed thank so much!
You’re very welcome! The best thing about doing it when you did was the lessons, the transformation, and the experience! Thank God He can do more with an hour than we can do in a lifetime because He is not restricted by time. Thanks so much for commenting and God bless you on your journey💕🙏🏾
Thanks for the warm message, well received.
You’re very welcome! Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it 🫶🏽
I love it! Thank you for sharing such words of encouragement. Sometimes we need a little reminder of how to tackle life, God is great!
You’re welcome and thank you! Yes God is so good 💕 thanks for taking the time to read and comment 🫶🏽