The Gift of Failure
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ”
When I was in seminary, I had a preaching class that required us to record our sermons and then have them evaluated by classmates. It was excruciating. My sermons were fine for my level of education and experience, so I shouldn't have been so hard on myself; however, it felt like a failure rather than part of the growth process.
Popular author Mark Manson claims, "We can be truly successful only at things we are willing to fail at." Insecurities keep most of us from reaching our full potential. I am not referring to achieving full economic potential. I am referring to reaching your full divine calling. God calls us to enormous transformations in our own lives and the larger society. The path to reaching our full potential isn't linear. The path is fraught with wrong turns and dead ends. Too many people become frustrated, take setbacks personally, and tell themselves that they are not worthy or capable of achieving this dream. Rather than continue, they find a dead end that they can live with and settle in.
In settling, we often fail to give ourselves credit, and even worse, we fail to give God enough credit. God is powerful and loving enough to work through you and me. We simply need to overcome our fear of failure and learn to view our imperfections as opportunities for growth and learning. When we can learn to risk, fail, succeed, and risk again, we are ready to be used at a deeper level by the Holy Spirit.
We don't try to fail, but when we've done our best and something doesn't work, we've the opportunity to learn and try again in a different way. Today, think about the perceived failures in your life, especially the ones that tore at your self-image. How might you have increased your learning and wisdom? Don't let this reflection harm your self-image again. Realize that you have enough distance now to reflect without too much emotion. As you remember, evaluate and pray, the Holy Spirit will empower you. It will take you to a place beyond failure, giving you wisdom and confidence to reach new heights. That doesn't sound like failure!
