Have you ever avoided doing something because you were afraid that you might fail? I have been there! I can admit that there have been numerous times in my life that I allowed fear of failure to stop me from stepping out on faith. There is so much that God has for us on the other side of fear.
As we get older, we develop a growing natural fear of failure. Some conquer this fear better than others. If a toddler allowed fear of failure to paralyze him or her, they would never take first steps and start walking, running, climbing, and jumping. That fearlessness results in numerous bumps and bruises that hopefully encourage wisdom rather than fear. The more we get hurt or experience the disappointment of failed expectations, our wisdom increases, but often so do our fears.
Human beings fail - they just do. Romans 3:23 reminds us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We make mistakes and try to learn what we can, but no one is successful all the time. The fear of failure overtakes us when we take God out of the equation.
God does not fail. He does not make mistakes. God made us and we are not failures, and we are not mistakes. God did not abandon us because we are flawed. He stayed by our side and in the places we struggle, God triumphs. Philippians 4:13 assures us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. There is no fear of failure when you realize that the God who never fails is with us.
In Isaiah 41:10 God instructs us: do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Our life experience may support a fear of failure, but the nature of God does not. When you stand in the center of God’s will, your flaws are nothing in the face of God’s faithfulness. It's time to put aside our fear of failure and trust that where God guides us, He will provide everything we need. Continue to stay rooted in God!
Meditation Verse:
"fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
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