Facing Failure

Monday October 20, 2014

Recovery

There is a strong desire in us to succeed, to win, to excel, to be successful! Yet often we feel like a failure. Feelings of failure can terrify us and take our hope away. Our ability to do what we set out to do can be hindered by the nagging feeling that we are going to fail. Sometimes in recovery we set a goal for ourselves and then fail to maintain our sobriety. We beat up on ourselves not realizing that even when we fail we are not separated from God’s unfailing love.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NIV)

One type of failure we sometimes experience is the failure that comes from human limitation. We set our goals too high. We compete. We compare ourselves with others. Often we end up feeling disappointed in ourselves because we can’t measure up to our own expectations or the expectations of others. A sense of inadequacy follows and we find ourselves filled with shame, fear, and embarrassment. What do we do when this happens? We need to realize that God made us who we are. Each of us has limitations in some area. Realizing that we do not have the same capacity to deal with situations as someone else might have, will help us to be more realistic about what we can and cannot do. God is not surprised by our inability to do certain things and neither should we be. God will never ask us to do something He has not given us the ability to do. The things He has asked us to do that we may feel we cannot do, He says He will come alongside and help us in our weakness. When we turn to God we can be assured that He is actively working all things together for our good.

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:26-28 NLT)