By Shenalyn Page
Have you ever failed miserably at something? Most of us have. Maybe your mind went blank on a geometry test and you forgot all the proofs you had studied. Or perhaps you got lost on the first day of school and ended up being the only freshman in the senior English class.
No doubt about it—failure can be humiliating, especially when it happens in front of other people.
So what should you do when you blow it?
Get Up and Try Again
First of all, remember that it’s normal to fail at times. None of us is perfect; we all make mistakes. The important thing is not that you messed up. What matters is how you choose to respond to your failure. You can give up and quit trying—OR—you can choose to learn from your mistake and try again.
Seeing failure as an opportunity to improve is called having a growth mindset. It means that you recognize that mistakes are inevitable, but it also means that you decide to use them to help you get better and stronger. The Bible says it like this: “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity” (Proverbs 24:16).
Be quick to admit your mistakes and seek help. Wise people gladly accept criticism (in fact, they seek it out!) and learn from it. “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Proverbs 9:9).
Failure = Sin?
Sometimes, our failures aren’t just embarrassing. Instead, they spell DEFEAT because we let Satan’s temptations get the better of us. We were quiet when we should have stood up for Jesus, or we screamed at someone when we should have spoken with kindness. These times—when our failures dishonor our heavenly Father and hurt others—are the worst kinds of failures.
It’s tempting to hide from God when we know we have failed Him. We think He might be angry with us and that we have to wait for Him to calm down. Honestly, that couldn’t be further from the truth. God still loves you—even when you sin.
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand” (Psalm 37:23, 24).
Did you catch that? God holds you up when you fall! Don’t you love a God like that?!
Run to Jesus the moment you know you’ve sinned. Tell Him about your failings and ask His forgiveness. Then accept the fact that you are forgiven because He died on the cross for you.
Turn Failure Into Victory
The biblical word “repent” means “a change of mind.” It means you stop pursuing sin and start pursuing God instead. If you do that when you fail, God will change you from the inside out and cause you to become more like Him. The more you seek to overcome your faults in Jesus’ strength, the stronger and wiser you will become.
God created you to reflect His goodness. You can’t do that on your own, but you CAN let God do the work in you. You CAN choose to learn from your mistakes and pursue excellence. You CAN pray every day for the Holy Spirit to be your teacher. You CAN choose to obey God’s commands and learn everything you can about being the best you possible.
“Therefore, my beloved… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure … that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2:12, 13, 15, 16).
STAND: Unshakeable Faith
Does your faith in God feel wobbly and unsteady? Join us at the 2024 Amazing Facts Youth Conference, June 12–15, and learn how to overcome your failures and stand firmly for Jesus.