What do we do after we fail? We all have setbacks in our life. We all have times that we fail, times in which we miss the mark, times in which we sin. God’s Word declares, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again” (NIV, Prov. 24:16). We need to know how to deal with failure in a godly way so that we can get back up quickly and pursue God’s purpose for us instead of being beaten down by the enemy’s lies and condemnation.
God’s Grace
First of all, we need to have a healthy understanding of God’s grace. God’s grace overcomes our failings and weaknesses. The Bible says that the Apostle Paul was given a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from becoming conceited because of the marvelous revelations that he had seen. Paul asked God three times to take this thorn away from him, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7).
Because Paul was willing to boast in his weakness, God’s power was made all the more manifest in his life. Too often we think that we have to maintain this veneer of perfection in our life; quite the contrary, if we want God’s power to be strong in our life and to bless others, we should boast all the more in our weaknesses and failings. God’s power is made perfect in weakness—we may not know what God wants to work in us through our weakness, but He is working his powerful will!
Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” No matter our failure, every morning we can claim this promise and know that we have a new start, a new day in God. Earlier in this same passage, the prophet remembers his wanderings, his affliction, and his bitterness. If we have wandered from God, we need to return to Christ, stand upon His faithfulness, and trust his loving grace to help us to overcome our failures. God’s grace gives us a NEW START!
Psalm 30:8-10 says, “To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy; ‘What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.’” There was a time in my life when I faced very serious failure professionally. I was leading a school that had moved to a new location. Well, I didn’t get the fire marshal into the building until about a month before school was to start. The fire marshal identified numerous fire code violations. The situation seemed impossible; in fact it was doubtful whether the fire marshal would even return to reevaluate the building before the school year was to start. Well, I cried out to God for help. God did help. The Fire Marshal came back the Friday evening before school was to start, and we opened on time. We need to remember to cry out to God when we fail and not just “soldier on” in our own strength.
A Way to Deal with Sin
God has given us a way to deal with sin, which is a failure to hit God’s mark—his standard. Psalm 19:12-13 says, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” This passage shows various levels of missing the mark: errors, hidden faults, willful sins, ruling sins, and the great transgression.
It’s important that we deal with sin earlier than later. We need to live lives of repentance in which we are willing to honestly confront our sin and deal with it before it gets worse. In other words, when we fail, we need not think, “Well, I’ve failed; I’m just a failure so I might as well keep failing and keep going in this direction.” No, God calls us to repent today, to be cleansed by the blood of Christ, and to move forward into the destiny that He has for us.
The Need for Humility
1 John 1:8-10 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” Intrinsic to true confession of one’s sins is the need for humility. Pride is a pitfall. If we are going to come back from our failures, we must imitate Christ’s humility. God gives grace to the humble, and by his grace we are able to come back from failure. The failure of sin is confronted through naming it for what it is—sin—and through that process, God’s power returns to our life.
I recall when I got a yellow card as a soccer coach. Sportsmanship has always been important to me. In addition to the training my parents gave me, my college soccer coach schooled us very seriously in the need to walk in good sportsmanship on the playing field. Well, my high school varsity team was in a very heated contest with a rival team. During the course of the game, a confrontation occurred right in front of our team’s bench, and it happened to be between my brother and the leading player on the other team. I did something that I regretted—I stepped onto the field, between the opposing player and my brother, and said, “Go ahead.” Well, the referee came over and gave me a yellow card. All kinds of emotions we’re going through me, but I knew I had to take responsibility for my own actions. Afterwards I confessed and sought forgiveness from the other player and coach, as well as from my own team. When we humbly take responsibility for what we have done and seek forgiveness, God’s grace and cleansing power returns to our life.
A Heart of Restoration
I think of Peter, who boasted to Jesus that even if all fall away, he would not. Well, after he denied Christ three times before the rooster crowed, needless to say, Peter was devastated. After Jesus rose from the dead, He made it a priority to restore Peter. He asked Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” (John 21:15). Jesus restored Peter, and in the process He pointed Peter to his purpose: “Feed my sheep.”
Friend, there is a purpose for your restoration, for your coming back from failure, and that is so you will be able to accomplish the purpose God has for you. When we fail, we need to remember that God is always seeking to restore us to His image. God wants us to come back from failure so that we can feed his sheep, feed people, advance His Kingdom in the lives of people. God’s purpose for us still stands; we are engraved upon his hands!
Sometimes you may find yourself on your face—dealing with failure. Let me encourage you that God’s heart says, “Get up, get moving again, and get busy about my purpose for you—feed my sheep; feed my people!” Always remember: God is faithful and is committed to restoring you because He has a purpose for you! God’s richest blessings be upon you!
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