When Doubt Whispers "I'm Such a Failure"
"One reason we doubt God's love is that we have and adversary who uses every little offense to accuse us of being good-for-nothings. But your advocate Jesus Christ is more powerful than your adversary. He has cancelled the debt of your sins past, present, and future. No matter what you do or how you fail, God has no reason not to love you and accept you completely." Dr. Neil T. Anderson (excerpt taken from Daily in Christ online devotional)
Renee begins with an admiration for people who are not afraid to fail; who see setbacks as just another goal to conquer. However, many of us are not that type of people. For many of us failure is painful and embarrassing; for some it is to be discouraged to the point we feel we can't move forward. But failure doesn't have to be fatal.
She shares a article with a reference from Zig Ziglar that she read on a day feeling like a total failure as a mother. Ziglar tells a story about an interview with Andrew Carnegie. The wealthiest man in America in the 1900's employed more than 42 millionaires. When asked how he helped these men become so valuable he said, "men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of god, but one doesn't go into the mine looking for dirt, one goes in looking for gold, and the more he looks for the more he finds." We need to look for the good and stop focusing on the mistakes - in others and ourselves. God is the ultimate gold miner. He sees the gold amidst all the dirt in our lives and with His help we can bring is forward to mine it.
She shares the story of Peter, who even though he is often the disciple of little faith (walk on water, denying Jesus, etc.), Jesus sees the potential in him and declares that he is the rock the church will be built on.
She also shares the story of the woman brought before Jesus and the men of the church who was found in adultery. The law said she was to be stoned, but when asked what he felt should be done. They were setting a trap for Jesus. We have to be careful because Satan will set a trap for us by luring us into wanting something and then using it as the very thing he accuses us with. She sets the question of how many times has the enemy used a little distraction to lead into a pattern of destructive behavior and then used it for your condemnation? For me, I never realized how much until I considered my answer. We need to stop listening to the accusations and start listening to the voice of Truth.
Jesus bent down and began writing in the sand. We never get to know what He wrote, but after saying that the one without sin should cast the first stone, they all go away. And yet it doesn't end there. "Jesus straightened her up." Jesus stoops down to our level and helps us stand up straight and face our failures in the light of His love. We can't do this on our own, but we don't have to. "God wants to come to your rescue and give you victory. He wants to sustain you and show you that with His grace, mercy, and help, you can use your setbacks to help get back on your feet again, and find your confidence in Christ by believing what He says about you." (pg. 125)
Although you may condemn yourself for your failures, God never will. In God there is NO condemnation. However, there is conviction. She restates a pastor she once said who explained the difference. "Condemnation sweeps across our thoughts with generalized statements such as, You're such a failure, You're so hypocritical, or You can never be counted on....The Holy Spirit's conviction will be specific. He will reveal a sinful action or attitude and instruct us on what we need to do to right the wrong, whether it's restoring a broken relationship or returning something that isn't ours. He'll give us steps we need to make a change in our behavior or attitude." (pg. 127) It doesn't matter what you have done or will do, God does and will always still love you and forgive you.
We have to work to fail forward. We are going to fail and fall short of our expectations and others' - we're human. What we need to do, when we fall into this, is reach for God's hand to help us up instead of staying down on ourselves. "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand." Psalm 37:23-24 Disappointing others, God, or ourselves can automatically make us feel like a failure which reinforces the lies Satan is trying to feed us and brings us further down. We need to ask God if there is something we can do to, instead, rectify the situation. We also need to lower our expectations of ourselves and lighten our overloaded commitments. We need to stop beating ourselves up and start using God's word and His love to build ourselves up. "What are we doing, talking to a child of God the way we talk to ourselves?"
It seems like a contradiction, but when we fail, we can actually be growing in strength and confidence and more like the person God created us to be...IF we go to God for help. Failure can produce wisdom and maturity and push us to do more than we think we can. We need to look for "golden attitudes and actions" we want to see surface, find what God says about these and then incorporate them into our everyday lives and prayers. God can use our mistakes, failures, messes to help us BECOME: become more like Him; become the person He sees in us; become who He created us to be. And we need to remember this important final point: every time we fail, we need to let God remind us of the progress we've made. We might not be who we want to be, but we are not who we used to be. Each day, each experience, each time we get back up, each time we lean on God, each time we fail forward, we are becoming much closer to who we are meant to be.
Praying God's Promises
Lord, thank You that my failures never get the final say - You do! You say there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and my life is hidden in Him. When my heart or my enemy tries to condemn me, I will have confidence, believing that I will receive from You anything I ask according to Your Word and Your will, as I obey Your commands and seek what pleases You.
Because my steps are established by You, Lord, I will believe that You delight in me even when I fail or fall. When I have a setback, I will get back up again because You give me Your shield of victory and Your right hand sustains me; Your help makes me great. Thank You for Your grace that is sufficient for me. I choose to rely on Your promise to perfect Your power through my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment