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 actually fail God, myself, and others? How can I face failure in a healthy way?
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. When we can’t measure up to our own expectations or the expectations of others we compare ourselves with others. We often end up feeling inadequate and disappointed in ourselves. It’s painful and embarrassing.
It’s also unrealistic to think we can sort everything out on our own and make our own way in the world. No matter how hard we may try we will fail because God created us to rely on His wisdom and power and learn how to cooperate and work together with Him and with others.
God knows our abilities and our limits. God invites us to live as the person He created us to be. His expectation of us is that we will use what we have been given and do our very best. 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)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to live and thrive in the areas of ability that you’ve given me and accept my limitations. Strengthen me to do only those things You have prepared in advance for me to do. Amen
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