The Freedom to Fail
One of the greatest blessings we have as believers is the freedom to strive for perfection without fear of retribution when, by necessity, we fail. I’m convinced that so many people miss out on so many blessings because they’re afraid of their own mistakes. We should never fear or resent God when He blesses us to see where we’ve fallen short in our lives. This is how we learn and grow. We have to accept that we’re not perfect and never will be in this life and yet we can never allow ourselves to settle for less than perfection. This absolutely necessitates failure. If we let pride or fear prevent us from accepting our mistakes then we fail to learn the lessons that God has so lovingly and mercifully prepared for us.
I have failed many times and last week was no exception. I’ve learned so much from it and now I pray I can use it all toward helping me to perfectly imitate my savior and friend.
Labels: Devotion, Emotions/Relationship, Theology
offered by Kc | 12/13/2005 08:15:00 AM
10 Comments:
I know the feeling.
God Bless
DF thanks for the sympathy.
Jeff, wise words. I guess I was thinking along the lines of the sin of omission. Failing to try for fear of failing.
I once had a professor who would say an astonishing thing at the beginning of each of his courses.
"I only give out A's. I don't want you worrying about your grade, just focus on your learning."
Suddenly I was free to expreiment. I always did my best and I wanted to keep my grades up (I graduated with a 3.97 gpa). Suddenly I wasn't worried about trying to write papers that pleased the instructor. Instead I focused on what I wanted to do. I experimented with writing and found my "voice".
I don't think this is a wise arrangement fro all classes or in many areas of life, but it seems to echo your post.
When we are secure in our standing with the Lord because of Christ's imputed righteousness, it is OK to fail. No one can take us out of His hand ... no one ... and no failure.
yes KC =D
our Lord only wants the very best for all His children. we just need to trust Him.
God bless you.
Jesus loves you very much :)
we all go through that. you're in my thoughts and prayers.
I know how that feels so well. I used to shudder failures, but God has taught me so much from my mistakes. Now I understand that failures is part of growth, and the freedom to fail is liberating =)
Great thoughts everyone.
CS that's a perfect analogy. We have our "A" in Christ now we're free to pursue His will in our life.
Jeff, I see how that applies now. I had to call focus "attitude" to get it, then it made perfect sense to me. It's the difference between being self centered and Christ centered. Thanks for pressing that.
Rose, security is a great word to use in understanding this concept and ties in well with the analogy CS offered. I want to consider the concept of security further, maybe in my next post. Thanks!
Audrey, thanks for the sunshine and the wonderful thoughts! He's not waiting for us to trip up so He can judge us, He's waiting to catch us. ;-)
Kitty, it seems you and I have the exact same perspective on this but we got here from opposite directions. I (gulp) had a hard time seeing any mistakes. (grin) True, I would trust in my reasoning, which I liberally applied, prior to any action and wouldn't allow myself to see what He was showing me that went beyond my understanding. I still struggle with that.
Kc, sometimes failing, learning from it, and using the lesson to better oneself is better for us than succeeding. Thank God for allowing us to fail, and for having His sustaining grace there for us so we can get back up and move on! Don't be discouraged.
Kristi it's too hard to be discouraged with so much wonderful encouragement, thanks. ;-)
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