Failing Forward

Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. It is a delay, not a defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street.

- William A. Ward, Motivational Writer

The more time I spend closely examining myself, the more I realize how much of a failure I am.

In thought, in words, in attitude and in action, I cannot begin to count the number of times I have failed God, failed Pam, failed family, failed friends, and even failed myself.

And while it would be nice to see myself like a major league baseball player, who makes millions of dollars for being successful 30% of the time, I am held to a much higher standard. Though perfection is not possible, it IS the standard by which I am measured.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:48,

“Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.”

- Matthew 5:46

That statement does not leave room for failure or shortcomings.

It does not allow for being partially or mostly right, but demands that we mirror the perfect character of God. This is the standard to which I am held. With that understanding, it solidifies the fact that I am a huge failure.

So, what do I do now? Should I throw my hands in the air and give up? Should I daily beat myself up mentally and physically? Or maybe I should just join a monastery and put aside all my worldly thoughts and possessions (actually, that does not sound like a bad idea at times).

But, I don’t believe any of those are what God wants from me.

I believe God desires to continue His work in me, to refine and purify me, to become more of who He created me to be.

In 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1, following six chapters of the Apostle Paul laying out God’s promises to us, he writes:

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

- 2  Corinthians 7:1

What this says to me is that while God’s standard is perfection, He recognizes that I am a work in progress; and, while I will surely fail, I am to move forward seeking, out of reverence for God, to perfect the holiness He has freely offered to me.

Author and Pastor John Maxwell put it this way:

Failing forward is the ability to get back up after you have been knocked down, learn from your mistake and move forward in a better direction.

Friends, I am going to fail, and I am sorry to tell you this, but you are also going to fail. But, as one person put it, “God uses people who fail, ‘cause there aren’t any other kind around.”

Let’s claim the promise of God in 1 John 1:9, where John writes,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

- 1 John 1:9

And let us then move forward in the holiness of God, out of reverence for Him, and strive for the perfection to which He has called us to in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Ken

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