Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 444 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
9 Motivating Promises When You Feel Like a Failure
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 444 of our trek, and today is Motivation Monday. Every Monday we hike the trails of life that will encourage and motivate us to live rich and satisfying lives this week. Today we will explore 9 Motivating Promises When You Feel Like a Failure.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. When this episode originally airs, we will be back in Charlotte for a couple of weeks. I was able to make one pass over the lawn on Saturday for one final grass cutting for the year and to pick up the few leaves that have fallen so far. If you live in an area with few mature trees, you may not consider what we have on the ground already as a few leaves, but compared to what we will see in the next six weeks, it is hardly anything.
Just as the seasons of the year are changing rapidly with cooling temperatures and the changing color of the leaves before they fall, it is the same for the seasons of our lives. Certain seasons of life may be disappointing, and if we are not careful, these disappointments will turn to feelings of failure. One truth that we must grasp hold of is that we cannot trust our feelings to always be correct. It is the truths found in God’s Word that we must cling to, and not how we may feel on a particular day or even season of life. God did not create us to be failures. We are created in His image. My mentor Zig Ziglar said, “Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night and today is a brand new day.” As we break camp for today, let us head up our trail of motivation to explore the:
Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night and today is a brand new day.
9 Motivating Promises When You Feel Like a Failure
molehill. Regardless, the feeling of failure is acute. Disappointment in yourself is heartbreaking, and if you dwell on it, can be soul damaging. When you allow it to grow, the feeling of being a failure can paralyze you to the very core. Think about it a little differently with me today. Just like success, failure will not last forever, unless we choose to allow it. Winston Churchhill put it this way, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
No matter how many times you have missed the mark or how great the fall is that you’ve made, failure is not your destination. It is only an event along your journey of life. So, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, conclude your pity party, and let these thoughts from Scripture get you back on the trail.
It happens to us all.
Proverbs 24:16 – The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
Perfection would be nice, but it won’t happen this side of heaven. Even the most Godly of people fail. No one is immune to failure. Whether you tripped up 7 times or 77, shake it off and get up again.
The Lord holds your hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 – The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
Deep in the depths of failure and self-loathing, it can be difficult to understand the heart of God. Why would He love me when I messed up so bad? When you fail, not only does God love you, but He loves you enough to hold your hand. Others may desert and disown you, but Jesus is by your side holding your hand. He is not embarrassed by your mess. Understand this truth, “God cannot love you more and will not love you less.”
The answer is Jesus.
Romans 7:21-25 – I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
You promised yourself you wouldn’t lose your temper. You vowed to never smoke again. But in the heat of the moment, you gave in and did the very thing you hate. We do not have the strength within ourselves to overcome failures unless we allow God’s strength to flow through us.
You are forgiven.
1 John 1:9 – But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Your failure is forgiven, covered by the sacrificial death of Christ. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. All that is left to do is forgive yourself.
There is no condemnation.
Romans 8:1-2 – So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
Where there are thoughts of failure, condemnation is not far behind. You are not condemned because you belong to Christ. Stop analyzing and dwelling on your shortcomings. The life-giving Spirit has freed you from thoughts of defeat.
His grace is all you need.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
God’s grace is all you need. Grace to cover your wrong, but also grace to overcome weakness and move forward in victory. His grace is there when you fall, but it also turns weakness into strength.
The Lord is your strength.
Psalm 73:26 – My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
Your health may fail, your mind may wander, your spirit may be fragile, but the Lord is your strength – and that makes all the difference. Lean into Him and be reinvigorated with strength for your greatest weakness.
There is fresh mercy.
Lamentations 3:22-23 – The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I like to recite this verse each morning. As your own harshest critic, you tend to give yourself very little mercy. Am I right? But the faithful love of God is bigger than your mistake. His mercy has no end. It is available fresh each day. If you find yourself waking to thoughts of failure and frustration, take some of that sweet mercy, and face the day focused on His faithfulness.
Forget the past.
Philippians 3:13-14 – No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
If the superstars of the Bible had not achieved it, why put such high expectations on yourself? The lesson to learn from saints like the Apostle Paul is captured here. Forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead. So take Paul’s advice and do this one thing – stop reliving the past. It’s over. Press on. Push against the resistance. Jesus is calling you onward.
Remember what Zig taught us, “Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night and today is a brand new day.”
As we end our trek for today, if you have feelings of failure in certain areas of life, come back to these promises and hike this trail as many times as is needed until you break free of the shackles of failure and continue toward your summit.
Tomorrow’s short trek is part of our Wisdom Unplugged series that we are now hiking on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These 3 minute wisdom supplements will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise throughout the entire week. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy these daily doses of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter or in person and inviting them to come along with us each day. If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek so each trek will be downloaded to you automatically.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.
As we take this trek of life together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!