Overcoming Failure

‘My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart.’ Psalm 73:26 NIV

As you drive towards your destiny, you’re sure to hit potholes along the way, or take some wrong turns, or forget to check your fuel gauge and run out of fuel. The truth is, the only way to avoid failure is not to leave your driveway! Wisdom is often the result of coming to grips with failure. The real issue in life isn’t whether or not you’re going to fail, but whether you’re going to learn from your experience and turn it into the wisdom needed to succeed.

In a survey of successful people, not one of them viewed their mistakes as failures. They considered them ‘learning experiences’, or ‘tuition paid’, or ‘opportunities for growth’. That’s the winning attitude! Henry Ward Beecher said: ‘It’s defeat that turns bone to flint… gristle into muscle… and makes men invincible. Do not then be afraid of defeat. You are never so near victory as when you’re defeated in a good cause.’

So the next time you fail at something, stop and ask yourself, ‘What have I learned? Am I grateful for this experience? How can I turn it into success? Where do I go from here? Who else has failed like this, and how can they help me? How can my experience help others? Did I actually fail, or just fall short of an unrealistically high goal? Where did I succeed as well as fail?’ Then go one step further, and ask God for greater insight. If you do, you’ll grow stronger and wiser because of what you’ve been through (see James 1:5).