Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Nature of Failure

Have you ever dropped the ball? We are told, "to err is human," but do we really believe that anymore? How could we not? Mistakes happen all the time.

We all fall short. We fall short of the glory of God. We fall short of our own standards. We fall short of our promises and potential.

The truth is that none of make it out of this world without failing. The truth is we fail a lot. When I speak of failure, I am not equating it with sin, although sin is a particular type of failure.

Most people make well-intentioned promises that they never keep. They don't do this because they hoping to deceive or destroy another. They do it because they are not giving careful thought to future. They speak with certainty when they should use caution.

Failure is a molder, a shaper.  It forms and fashions those who endure it. Some are ruined by its touch. Others learn from failure and grow in their potential. Failure is only fatal to those who allow it to stand in the way.

Failure has the potential to stretch us beyond our current capabilities. Every failure is an opportunity to examine the gaps in our thoughts and imaginations. It is an opportunity to find out what we don't know or what we can't do at this moment.

Failure is not determinate. It cannot predict the future. Failure here and now does not mean failure always. What we do with our failures will determine what we become.

We all fall down. We must learn to pick ourselves up and move forward. All the while, we keep in mind that failure is just around the corner and opportunity is right behind it. If we seize the opportunity, it turns our failure into a springboard to success.

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