Faith Over FearSýnishorn

I felt certain we'd failed, and I feared when similar challenges came, we would do so again. As my fear of failure grew, I became increasingly reluctant to obey and embrace God-orchestrated risks. I focused more on what had occurred, and my perception of it, than God's good and hope-filled plans ahead. 

We’d opened our home to a hurting teen, hoping to bring healing and point her to Jesus. We’d prayed for her, talked with her, and often shared truth. She seemed to listen and grab hold of the life Christ offered. But it’d been a ruse. 

She’d simply told us what she thought we wanted to hear. She’d been lying to us the entire time. When we thought she was staying after school for tutoring, she was actually sneaking off to do drugs with friends. She brought hard liquor into our home, hidden deep in her backpack, and engaged in shameful activities on social media—all without us knowing. Until one night a friend of hers “ratted her out.”

We realized this young lady’s problems went much deeper than we’d thought. She was battling an alcohol addiction and perhaps mental illness. The next morning, I urged her to get help and promised to walk beside her. With a steely look in her eye, she refused. She told me she didn’t want to change, didn’t want to give up drinking, and could care less what I, or anyone, thought.

As I mentioned, when I initially evaluated the situation, I concluded that we'd failed. But then God reminded me that He doesn’t measure success and failure like you or I might be tempted to. In His eyes, the moment we take that first step of obedience, we’ve succeeded, regardless how things turn out. We’re to love others and boldly proclaim His truth, and when we do that, we can call it a win. I’ll likely always view my experience with that young lady with sorrow and regret, but today’s Bible passage helps me rest in knowing I boldly and lovingly spoke truth. 

Though Paul, the ancient evangelist who authored today’s verse, saw eternal fruit from his preaching, even if he hadn’t, I’m certain God would’ve called his actions a success, because he’d been obedient. That’s all God asked of him, and that’s all He asks of us. When we remember that, risking failure won't feel so frightening.

~Jennifer Slattery