Feeling Like a Total Failure — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

One of the saddest comments I’ve heard over many years of Christian ministry – sharing life with lots of people – is this phrase, I’m a total failure. It’s quite depressing. But it’s not true. No one is a complete failure in life, even if you’ve had a very bad experience somewhere along the way.

For each of us, there’ve been positive experiences, and yet we forget about those. We focus on the negative ones. And even talking to a trusted friend may not help when they say, well, you know, it could have been worse. Don’t worry, you’ll get over it. Simple platitudes like these are not helpful, really.

And sometimes we all feel that we’ve not come up to the mark somehow.

Perhaps at school we wasted time, we didn’t pay attention. Adolescence is often a turbulent time of growing up with sometimes silly decisions, a lack of maturity. And even as adults we make foolish decisions and live with the consequences. Many of us can feel like a failure after we fail a test or lose our job or our significant other leaves us. All these things have the power to derail our lives.

It was JK Rowling who said, failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It’s the ability to resist it or use it that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing. And she knows firsthand about failure.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was rejected by multiple publishers when she was still a single mum living on welfare.

Did she give up? Did she throw away her manuscripts because some people behind her desk didn’t think she was good enough? Imagine how different her life would have been if she’d thrown in the towel. I think it’s important to acknowledge that everybody fails at some stage, and that in itself does not make us failures. It just means we are human and that things didn’t work out this time. Maybe we need to step outside our comfort zone and have a go.

After all, what’s the worst thing that can happen? The Bible has some wonderful advice and teaching from God on this topic. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 73:26, My body and my heart may grow weak. God, you give me strength to my heart. You are everything I will ever need. This verse reminds me that I am human, and I’m going to struggle with feelings of failure and failing God, but He will give me the strength if I trust in Him.

When I’m facing hard times, God sends His Holy Spirit to encourage me and to help me beyond my own power and my own understanding. I don’t have to struggle with issues that life throws at me. He knows and understands what’s happening.

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And he knows what’s happening to you too. Why do we think that life is all about money, profit, and numbers rather than obedience, spiritual growth, and depth of maturity? God often uses failure in our lives to develop maturity and character. When we accept that failure is a part of life, we can learn to be at peace. Each day can be a new experience.

God has called us to abundant life in Him, and when failure comes, we can ask, What is God teaching me about life from this experience? What new lesson can I learn?

It’s interesting, by society’s standards, Jesus was a failure in picking friends, since only two were at His crucifixion. So many had abandoned Him in face of fear of persecution or rejection. If Jesus can deal with failure as He did, so can we.

Even when life is not going our way, something can strike without notice. Can we go on with life? God is there, and we forget that He sees a bigger picture than we can. His ways are higher than ours. He helps direct our path as we listen to Him. We can spend time alone with Him and remind ourselves that we’re human. Ask Him to direct your life if you don’t know where you’re going.

God is always faithful in leading and guiding us if we humbly ask. He’s like the shepherd that we read about in Psalm 23. What matters most is not that we fail. It’s about focus and perspective and remembering that God’s love for us never fails. He loves us beyond our failures. He takes and uses our failures in a way that we cannot understand.

Let’s Pray

Dear Lord, we know that you don’t throw aside people who’ve failed. Instead, you offer forgiveness and a new hope. Forgive me, Lord, when I say I’m a failure, because with you failure is never a total failure. Help those who feel life has no hope because of their mistakes and bring them to a new understanding of your magnificent love. Amen.

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