As part of our Sunday Mornings Live series, guest speaker Walker Gaulding talked about Success in Failures. He did a fantastic job sharing how to grow from our failures. If you missed his message, you can watch it below or listen to it in podcast form here.
No matter who we are and how successful we may have been in the past, the reality is failures can cripple us and prevent us from being who God created us to be. So how can you overcome failures? What are some ways you can use your failures to continue to grow as a person and be all Christ created you to be? Here are a few ways:
Admit them. Admitting you messed up or failed is a great start to overcoming your failures. After all, if you can’t admit you failed, how can you overcome them and grow from them? That is why simply admitting failure is a great starting point. You don’t have to announce it to the whole world or even a certain amount of people. Simply writing it down and owning it for yourself can help you. From a sin standpoint this is confession: agreeing with God that you messed up.
Learn from them. Whether it is a success or a failure, we can all learn from them. What did you do wrong? How could you have done it differently? These are just two of the ways you can process what happened and how you can learn from your failures. Ask God to reveal these answers to you.
Get connected with others. Maybe your failures or struggles are beyond your ability to cope with on your own. That is why being in relationship with other spiritually minded people is so important. Small groups and Celebrate Recovery are great places for you to connect with others and be encouraged. Learn more about Celebrate Recovery and or small groups.
Keep seeking God. Jeremiah 29:13 it says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” James 4:8a says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Don’t let failures deter you from seeking God and asking Him to guide you.
Finally, don’t give up. The great thing about what Walker said is that we all mess up. We all have failures, but you don’t have to let your failure define who you are. And, you don’t have to let a failure prevent you from being who God created you to be. Acknowledge where you messed up, learn from them, connect with others to help you grow from them, and keep seeking after God and let Him guide you. The more you can move beyond your failures, the sooner you can overcome them and grow from them.
What do you think? What stood out to you from Walker’s message? And, how have you grown from your failures? Share your thoughts, experiences and comments below.