Not a Failure

Continuing my series on ‘NOT’ Have you ever felt like Charlie Brown? I sure have. I have failed miserably in my life time and time again. I have failed in:

1. Not drinking enough water - Experts say you should drink eight glasses of water a day.
2. Not Brushing or flossing my teeth enough - Dentists say you should brush your teeth after every meal and floss every day.
3. Let my gas tank in my truck run lower than a 1/8th of a tank – Studies have shown letting your gas tank get to Empty is bad for the engine.
4. I haven’t made my bed every day.
5. Not gotten more than 6 hours of sleep at night for the last few years - Doctors say the average adult should get no less than 8 hours of sleep per night.
6. Not observed the posted speed limit – speeding is against the law.

These may sound silly but this list is not complete. I failed in telling you ALL my failures…LOL!

Guess what?

All of us fail occasionally – don’t we? It is not out desire or intent but it happens. Everybody experiences failure, and everybody experiences the fear of failure. In fact, just the fear of failure paralyzes millions of people. Yet, many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

No one likes to talk about his or her Failures. How then can we overcome the fear of failure so that it does not paralyze us to move forward?
James 3:2 - We all stumble in many ways.

Everybody fails. Nobody is perfect. We all blow it. You can’t get away from that principle in Scripture. Great men of the Bible failed.

Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.

FAILURE IS WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR BEST JUST ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH!

Proverbs 24:16 - For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

Even Christians stumble. All of them!!! George Washington lost 2/3 of all the battles he fought during the American Revolution, but eventually won the war and became the first President of the United States. Billy Graham said that when he was asked to preach his first sermon. He had 4 sermons prepared and he was so nervous he preached all four of them in under 10 minutes.

Can you imagine if Billy Graham had said, “You know, I’m just not cut out for this. I don’t want to endure that kind of embarrassment again”? The world would have missed one of the most inspired preachers of all time. Failure doesn’t have to be final.

Isn’t it true that many of us give up too quickly? But one of the best ways to learn is through failure. You become a success through failure. One of the reasons why mature people stop growing and learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.

Paul said of the Romans in Romans 8: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…according to His purpose.

One of the most well-known people of the New Testament is a man named Simon. He knew all about failure. He gave up when he walked on water. He failed when he refused to let Jesus wash his feet. He failed when he took out his sword and cut off the ear of a servant of the High Priest. He failed to stand up for Jesus during the trial before Herod. He failed to stand with Jesus at the foot of the cross. When you read through the Gospels, it seems like Simon messes up almost everything he tries.

But Jesus gave Simon the name, “Peter” which means “rock.” He offered forgiveness for all of Simon’s failings, and Peter preached one of the greatest sermons in the history of Christianity where 3,000 people became followers of Jesus Christ.

You ever notice when God’s plan for you is greatness, he changes your name? Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul? Hopeless to Forgiven. Sinner to Saved. What’s your name?
When you fail at something, maybe God is developing a skill that you didn’t know you had. You see, God uses failure to direct us into a new area. Some of us have tried a ministry and we feel as if we’ve failed and so we just kind of washed our hands and walked away. That’s not what God wants for us. He wants us to develop our skills.

If we want to conquer the fear of failure, we have to discover that everyone fails, determine that failure is not final, discern the benefits of failure.

The only failure that is complete is when we fail to respond to God’s love.

Loving God is “Not a Failure”!