Monday, February 18, 2013 -- Personal Failure

There is a strong desire in us to succeed! To win! To excel! To be successful! Yet often we feel like a failure. Feelings of failure can terrify us and take our hope away. How do I fail God, myself, and others? What options do I have for finding God’s help as I face my failure? How am I growing in experiencing God’s forgiveness and power made perfect in my weakness?

This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV)

There are two kinds of failure we walk with each day. The first is the failure that comes from human limitation. We set our goals too high. We compete. We compare ourselves with others. Often we end up feeling disappointed in ourselves because we can’t measure up to our own expectations or the expectations of others. We feel inadequate. Inadequacy is a very uncomfortable feeling. In fact, sometimes it's not just uncomfortable, it's very painful and it can be very embarrassing.

God invites us to live as the person He has created us to be. His expectation of us is that we will use what we have been given and do our best. At the same time, God created us to live in relationship with Him, operating in obedience to His will, in the power of His Spirit. When we try to be someone else or live according to someone else’s standards we are not following God’s plan for our life.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NLT)

If we are trying to do our best on our own without clinging to God’s help and power, we fail because we are going about the task in a way that truly is inadequate. God has wonderful plans for our lives and the power to help us to attain satisfying and meaningful goals. We must be willing to ask, "Lord, what will You have me to do in Your strength and in Your power?"

But God said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV)

Let's succeed at being ourselves today, as we live and serve in loving surrender to God who guides us with purpose and care in a life that is good, perfect, and pleasing.