Day 12: Afraid to Fail?

Well we are past the halfway point, and frankly I’m feeling pretty good. Not about myself or my own spirituality, but about living life on purpose. The thing that I love about doing a fast is that it is like hitting the “reset” button on my life and appetites.

We focus quite a bit on the food aspect over these 21 days, but honestly, this time wouldn’t have been nearly as impactful in my life if I hadn’t given up other activities. The fasting of food creates a hunger meant to parallel the spiritual, while fasting other activities creates the room for that spiritual hunger to be satisfied.

So if you’ve been focusing on food, consider adding (or subtracting) something that requires your time, let it go… and finish strong!

So many of the daily devotionals have been so on point with my life, and this morning’s was no exception. I have been wrestling with failure lately. Not a specific personal failure, but with the idea of failure.

I am in the process of making some changes in my life, and I am not sure how it will turn out. Failure looms, complete with those internal voices screaming that it will turn out like all the rest, with regret, and unfulfilled dreams. I often let these voices beat me down.

But there is another voice, that doesn’t yell, but calmly and confidently asks:

“So what if you do? Why are you so afraid? Why are you unwilling to fail?”

Everyone has their reasons, and I certainly have a long list of my own, but, I am certain that this is not faith.

The Bible is full of people who failed in epic fashion.

Peter… well, where do we start?

Paul’s life, though undoubtedly adorned with all the trimmings of worldly success, was really a failure prior to the Damascus road. Even then, we see him fail in his relationship with Barnabas, yet God didn’t leave him.

Have you ever really read the genealogies of Jesus? I used to skip their monotony until I noticed how they were filled with liars and cheaters, adulterers, prostitutes, murderers, and other failures. What a list of redemption!

Why does God do things this way? Because he uses the foolish things of this world, and in us (1 Cor. 1:27), and makes them work together for his good (Rom. 8:28).

Our society places such a high price on failure, and “punishes” severely for it. We let failure label us, when God meant it to teach.

Think about Edison, 10,000 tries until he succeeded. He didn’t quit, he let each try teach him how not to make a light bulb, and set to it again.

So as this fast makes the turn, and moves towards its final week, have you failed? In whose eyes?

When failure comes again, what will you let it say about you, and God’s plan for your life?

Will you disqualify yourself? Or will you learn, and move on.

~Tadd