Christian Living
Living with failure
“I haven’t failed. I’ve just discovered 10,000 ways it doesn’t work!”
Thomas Edison, on the process of inventing the light bulb.
Other people’s perception of us tends to differ often from how we would like to be known or remembered. If Thomas Edison had given up at his 9,000th attempt the chances are we would still be in the dark. He is remembered not for his failures, but for his success.
Charles Spurgeon once said we tend to write our failures in brass and our victories in water. This is true but it is equally true that we tend to highlight the failures of others as well as ourselves. Take the other Thomas for example – Thomas Didymus, the outspoken disciple of Christ.
Thomas has become renowned for his doubts and his “My Lord and my God” statement. “Doubting Thomas” we call him but we forget his fervour and honesty. Never mind that next to Peter he was the most outspoken disciple, we remember, and perhaps misunderstand, his doubting.
Sometimes failure is as important as success. It can teach us many things. Here below are listed a few:
1. It can bring us to a realization that we’re not infallible after all.
2. It can tell us that our wisdom is not yet complete.
3. It can help us depend also on others for their contribution.
4. It can teach us our limits.
5. It can encourage us to try again, and again and again.
6. It can spur us on to greater things.
But failure can also be devastating. For the person who has given their all only to come short in an examination, comfort can be a distant second. For those who are counting on the success of a project but are in the end disappointed, failure can be cruel. For men, who live in a world of competitiveness, failure can be a massive blow. So how do we deal with failure?
We need to do seven things:
1. Don’t get it out of perspective. While you may experience a dreadful setback, failing in one area of your life doesn’t mean you are any less a person.
2. Don’t analyse it wrongly. If we look too closely at our failures we will see them as something they are not.
3. Don’t beat yourself up about it. You have only failed. On another occasion you may succeed. Get up, get on, and try again.
4. Don’t blame God or others.
5. Don’t doubt that you will once again succeed.
6. Don’t believe you’re the only one who ever fails.
7. Don’t call your life a disaster. You are God’s workmanship. You are His precious child. Allow Him to help you deal with your failure and even make something of it.
There are many examples of people in the Bible who failed and were reinstated or dealt with by God in such a way that they learned from the failure and were able to continue in His strength.
Think about Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob – yes Jacob the Twister, David, Elijah, Jonah. The list goes on.
Have you experienced failure recently? Okay. Accept it, bring it to the Lord and say, “Lord, once again I am reminded of my limits. That hurts and disappoints me Lord. Help me to get this into perspective and to not allow this to determine my future. Help me to walk by faith when I stumble by failure.”
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Excellent insight into the lessons we can learn from our failures. Thankyou for sharing it.
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