The text at the top of this post (you can read it here if your reading it on facebook) comes from President Theodore Roosevelt’s most famous speech “The Man in the Arena.”
I love the quote above because it explains a very important truth….
it’s okay to fail.
Failure will always bring feelings of frustration, shame, or in extreme cases ridicule from others. Some because of this choose to never take risks so that failure isn’t in their option. In their mind, the pain of failure isn’t worth the risk.
The problem with this is they don’t understand failure makes us stronger.
No, it doesn’t feel good to fail! But that failure is a tool of God to highlight things we can work on, or even sinful behaviors in our lives. He also builds endurance as we get up and try again.
Failure also builds our spiritual and emotional muscles just like exercise builds our physical muscles. Weightlifting and working out definitely don’t feel good, but over time they develop a stronger body. In the same way getting back up after we’ve been knocked down develops a stronger walk with God, and confidence.
Most importantly, failure teaches us that risk is a very important part of the Christian life.
God calls us to walk by faith (His strength) instead of our own strength. This means risk, or taking a step of faith is VERY IMPORTANT. Because it is only as we take a risk (attempt something that we cannot do in our own strength) that God can do His work.
I am someone who knows very well the pain of failure
but I also know that pain is worth it, because it draws me out of my comfort zone into a life of risk.
Johnhwilburn.org 