Have you ever failed at something?
I mean really failed to the point where you become paralyzed, numb, question your dreams, God’s purpose for your life, and if you’ll ever gain traction again?
I have.
In fact, this happened at the beginning of last year! 2013 was a really hard year for me and a lot of other people (not dwelling in the past at all)…It was so rough, I thought I was a failure. One of my dreams collapsed right in front of my eyes! It was tough, and horrible at the same time. But what I was counting as a failure, God was using as the moment to prepare us for #lovebeyondwalls!
That’s why I love the passage written in Romans where the writer professes that, “All things work together for good to those who love God…” Wait, when you fail, you fail right? Wrong. When I reflect on where we are today (one year later), I can’t help but say “failure is a liar… failure can be used… God has the last say!”
Failure will make you think you should quit, throw in the towel, bury your dream(s), and grab your bat and ball and go home! In fact, if you feel like you are failing, it is the perfect place for you… Why? Because when all is stripped away, there is an opportunity for something new to be born in and through you!
The three top things I have learned from failing forward are:
1) Failure is not fatal — Just because you failed at something does not mean it is over… It means that you have gained more experience and insight for your next assignment. Once you think failure is fatal, you’ll give up completely. That’s not an option because “life goes on…”
2) Failure should not be worshipped — There is always a temptation to hang your head for a long period of time, have a “woe is me attitude,” and become a victim. When we assume this posture, we worship what has happened to us, and forfeit the opportunity to see what is happening in us. No bad event deserves that much attention.
3) Failure has oppotunities inside of them — If we are wise, we can glean insights into what we should be doing, how we should grow, or who we are to become through our failures. Every failure or experience can lead you to a clue of what’s next in your life. Although tough, failure has tremendous opportunities imbedded in it.
Watch the video below! It is another piece to the LBW story and how failure was used to help start this organization!
[embedplusvideo height=”500″ width=”500″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1eOyLAw” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/2IWdYY4rxVs?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=2IWdYY4rxVs&width=380&height=380&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep2941″ /]Terence
