How Does God Use My Failure?

I'm sure we can all say that at some point in our lives we have felt like a failure.  Whether in our jobs, as parents, as sons and daughters, as husbands and wives, we've convinced ourselves that we have fallen short.

The Google definition of the word failure is:  lack of success; the omission of expected or required action.

That second definition right there gives us insight into whether or not God thinks we are failures...

Does God Think I'm a Failure?

Those who are in Christ Jesus could never be thought of as a failure in God's eyes.

We are His especial creation - His masterpieces - the Work of His perfect hands.  Just by that very fact we are not seen as a failure.

We are His chosen ones, redeemed in Christ Jesus.  Our sins have been removed as far as the East is from the West.  He has cleansed us of all unrighteousness!  We are covered in the righteous blood of Jesus and that is what God sees when He looks at His children.  

When we fail, and we will, we must remember...

My flesh and my heart may fail, 

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 73:26

When you feel like a failure, turn your eyes back to Jesus, the author and finisher of your Faith.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

God offers promise after promise that although our faith may fail Him, He will ALWAYS remain faithful to His children.

if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:13

God does not think of His children as failures, quite the contrary...

He will take delight in you with gladness. 

With his love, he will calm all your fears. 

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Zephaniah 3:17

What does the Bible say about Failure?

The Word of God offers much encouragement and hope for when we fail.

Jeremiah, say this to the people of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You know if a man falls down, he gets up again. And if a man goes the wrong way, he turns around and comes back.

Jeremiah 8:4

The righteous may fall seven times but still get up, 

but the wicked will stumble into trouble.

Proverbs 24:16

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I could learn Your statutes.

Psalm 119:71

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, 

and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. 

Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:2-3

The Lord makes firm the steps

    of the one who delights in him;

though he may stumble, he will not fall,

    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

 for his compassions never fail.

Lamentations 3:22

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

Even though we have failed, have we truly failed when we take hold of these promises, repent, allow God to pick us up, dust us off and then obey when He says, "this is the way, walk in it"?

In God's economy, He will use our failings to bring about growth.  The Lord will redeem our failure and set us aright for His Kingdom.  It could be that in an area where the failure was great, He will do even greater things in and through us for His Glory.

How does God use my Failure?

A key point to remember when contemplating the idea of failure in a Believer's life is that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  He died for our past, present and future sins.  If we live in a mindset of failure, we are wasting the blood of Jesus, who suffered and died to set us free from the punishment of those failings.

Remember, God is not shaken by our failures.  He knows the beginning from the end.

God is in the business of redemption.  And since we are in the business of being human, failure will happen.

I think we can learn something about  how God uses our failures through the account of Jesus' final hours on earth with His disciples...

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, 

“Sit here while I pray.”  He took Peter, James and John along with him, 

and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible

 the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. 

Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.  When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? 

Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.  

Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Mark 14:32-42

In this account, we see that Jesus warns the apostles that the "spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak".  Three times Jesus came back and found them sleeping after asking them to stay awake, and although He sounded angry at this discovery, I believe God had compassion on them in their weakness...

The Berean Study Bible translates Luke 22:45...

When Jesus rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, 

He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 

The failure of the apostles to stay awake and pray, as Jesus commanded, is still being redeemed through the generations who read this text and take to heart the importance of watching and praying.  As for the failure of the Apostles to watch and pray, they were ultimately strengthened as a result of that experience and went on in service to the Lord sharing the Good News of Jesus boldly.  In the end, all of them were martyred for their faithful service.

That same night, prior to his time in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus, Peter had another encounter with Jesus...

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like 

wheat,  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”  Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you 

both to prison and to death.”  Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will 

not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Luke 22:31-34

We all know what happened.  After the rooster crowed the third time, Peter denied Jesus, after which he wept bitterly...

But we see the hope that Jesus gave Peter even before he failed,  "and when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers".  Indeed, Peter went on to be the lead Apostle if you will.  He delivered the Sermon on the Mount and boldly proclaimed the Gospel without fear.

Does there seem to be a worse failure in life than to deny Jesus not once, but three times?!  Yet here we see how God allowed that failure (Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat), and prayed over that failure that Peter's faith would not fail and that he would be strengthened afterward.

We can have that same hope! God's children cannot out-fail God's love and redemption.  EVERYTHING that touches our lives is ordained by God.  He uses all life's circumstances, especially our failures, as teachable moments for His Glory.

How do I Overcome Failure?

Now that we have established that we are not a failure in God's eyes, have found encouragement from what the Bible says about our failings and have learned that God uses our failure for His good purposes, it is important to note that that does not mean we have a license to fail.

Our best defense for overcoming failure is to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!  Just as Jesus exhorted in our earlier Scripture reading, WATCH and PRAY, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

As Believers we should strive to overcome failure by keeping short accounts with God {confessing}.  If we fail and immediately confess in the moment, we are training our hearts to obey.

One of the biggest guarantees of failing is to constantly tell yourself you are a failure.  It is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  You are speaking failure over your life and just accepting that for yourself.

As Believers in Christ Jesus, we have been born again into a place of Victory NOT failure.  Live from that place of Victory and you will find your fail less and less.

Business owners will tell you that failed ventures are successes because even though they tried and failed, they learned from their mistakes and moved on.

In the same way, we must ask the Lord to show us what we are to learn from our failure and allow it to produce spiritual fruit.

We can know that in Christ Jesus, we are overcomers!  Our failures don't define us, Jesus does.  Our identity is in Him.

For similar posts, click on the following:

The Antidote for Feeling like a Failure

A Key Scripture Verse that Will Make You an Overcomer in the New Year

Am I Good Enough for God?

Why Praise is Your Greatest Spiritual Weapon Against Sin

You might find me on these link-ups:

Grace & Truth, Woman to Woman Ministries, Inspire Me Monday, A Wise Women Builds Her Home, Spiritual Sundays, Soul Survival,  Good Morning Mondays, Tell His Story, Faith & Fellowship Blog Hop,   Tuesday Talk,    Faith 'N Friends,  Sitting Among Friends   House to Home  ,Wonderful Wednesday , Literacy Musings Mondays,Imparting Grace, Dance with Jesus,  Booknificent Thursdays ,  Fresh Market Friday Moments of Hope Wonderful Wednesdays , Tea & Word Tuesday Heart Encouragement Thursday Hearts for Home Messy Marriage Link-up Friday at the Fire Station Link-up Tune In Thursday Faith on Fire Link-up, Sunday Scripture Blessings Link-up, Sunday Thoughts, Writer Wednesday, Faith Filled Friday God Sized Dreams Link-Up Sitting Among Friends Be Thee Inspired Graceful Tuesday Link-up Aprons & Pearls Link-up Trekkingthru Link-up  Encouraging Word Wednesday  Grace Moments Link-up  Encouraging Hearts and Home Worth Beyond Rubies Seeking Sabbath Scripture and a Snapshot IHeart Verse Welcome Heart Kingdom Bloggers Outdoorsy Mommy Anchored Truth Tuesdays IHeart Verse InstaEncouragements

Recharge Wednesdays Kingdom Bloggers