[Keep Walking: The Power of Perseverance] Persevere in the PainShembull

Do We Truly Fail?

If we are in Christ and we remain in Him, no test is designed to make us fail. The testing of our faith is designed to boost our faith and our capacity to endure suffering. In Christ, we do not fail tests, but we are required to take them again, if we are not able to learn from them and understand why were put to a test in the first place. The Bible tells us that a righteous person may fall seven times, but he or she will rise again. The Lord sustains us; He upholds us with His right hand. 

It is the collection of falls that leads us to success, as failures are much more common than successes, poverty much more generalized than riches, and disappointments much more normal than accomplishments. We should therefore prepare ourselves for failure. It is a sure thing. Preparing ourselves means accepting the reality and frequency of painful events. It will also require the will to resist and endure.

Like grief, failure also follows a process which includes comparison, rationalization, guilt, justification, and bitterness. These reactions, though normal, are negative and certainly not constructive. These very normal and common reactions can keep us in a well of desperation, preventing us from overcoming trials. You cannot compare your situation with that one of someone else, since no other individual has your background, temperament, personality, opportunities, and challenges. Therefore, do not compare yourself to others! You could end up justifying yourself or being too hard on yourself. If you succumb to guilt, you will be stuck. Further, regret will only depress you. Finally, the process of comparison only leads to your downfall. The way up is to examine the decisions that led you to a failure; take note of your mistakes. The way up is asking for wisdom, just like the Apostle James tells us to do when he is addressing the problem of trials. He encourages us to ask God for wisdom when we face diverse trials because God can give us the correct interpretation of our mistakes. 

The real problem when we face failure is how much time we spend regretting it. Regret always makes us look back and stay there. We need to look forward. We have been given the gift of faith to expect the good and perfect will of God to come to our lives.