Devotional #2: Failure
We've all failed. Maybe you fell on your face when you tried to walk for the first time, said something awkward to a friend, or flunked a test. Failing is easy, so easy we do it by accident a lot of the time. The really hard part is getting back up after a failure.
Failure is frustrating, failure is hard. It feels pointless, painful. One of the most awful things in life is to try really hard on something- and then fail. But God does have a purpose for failure. Several, actually.
Maybe failure serves as a reminder to you that you're mindset is wrong. For instance, when I recently failed to get published in Stone Soup, I was reminded that while getting published would be nice, ultimately my real goal in writing should always be the creation of art, and never the recognition it may bring.
Or perhaps you fail because you aren't ready yet. God takes his time in his plans (and it's a good thing, too) and often we aren't as prepared as we think we are. Failure to achieve something right now can be very irritating- but often times if we did get it right now it would do more harm than good- and what God has in store for much later is much, much better.
Sometimes failure serves to teach us something new. Failure to keep good friendships may be a lesson in enjoying your own company and not relying on your friends for happiness (something I'll be talking about more in my next devotional).
Whatever the reason God is allowing you to fail, you must get up after your failures- the most important thing is not how many times you fall, but how many times you get up.
Failure is frustrating, failure is hard. It feels pointless, painful. One of the most awful things in life is to try really hard on something- and then fail. But God does have a purpose for failure. Several, actually.
Maybe failure serves as a reminder to you that you're mindset is wrong. For instance, when I recently failed to get published in Stone Soup, I was reminded that while getting published would be nice, ultimately my real goal in writing should always be the creation of art, and never the recognition it may bring.
Or perhaps you fail because you aren't ready yet. God takes his time in his plans (and it's a good thing, too) and often we aren't as prepared as we think we are. Failure to achieve something right now can be very irritating- but often times if we did get it right now it would do more harm than good- and what God has in store for much later is much, much better.
Sometimes failure serves to teach us something new. Failure to keep good friendships may be a lesson in enjoying your own company and not relying on your friends for happiness (something I'll be talking about more in my next devotional).
Whatever the reason God is allowing you to fail, you must get up after your failures- the most important thing is not how many times you fall, but how many times you get up.
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