Category Archives: Failure

Sep3

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Contagious Grace

Posted on by
Standard
Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Contagious Grace

Today I read 1 Corinthians 15. Verses 8-10a stood out to me. I can’t lie, I am going through a moment in my Christian life- a valley moment, a painful, very NOT fun time in the valley of life. If it can go horribly wrong, it has. Some of it has been due to choices that I have made, decisions that were not God’s best for me, and some has just been life, being life. Whatever the reason, it makes me feel as though I am the worst human to ever human. But then, like today, God reminds me that He is God, and that His thoughts toward me are good.

“Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:8-10A (ESV)

There are days when I wonder if I am truly a Christian, if I’m disappointing God to the point of no return. I feel (on most days) as though I am a living, breathing example of the Scripture that says: the things I don’t want to do, that’s what I do (paraphrase). I am sure I am not the only one, but here’s something to consider: Paul persecuted God’s people, God’s sons and daughters, and EVEN in that God showed him grace. God moved Paul from darkness to His glorious, beautiful light, because His grace is contagious.

Here’s the truth, friends: the Christian walk is hard, and it should be because of what it cost Christ for us to gain it. His life. All of this to say, you can’t out bad God’s grace (not sure if this is proper English, but I’m not fixing it). In the midst of your failures and falling, hold on to God’s hope, peace, and love. Because He loves you, His promises are true, He never fails, and His grace is contagious.

So, what am I thankful for today? God’s contagious grace

Jan4

Day 4 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Redemption.

Posted on by
Standard
Day 4 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Redemption.

It never fails to amaze me how God speaks directly to my heart and meets me exactly where I need to be met. It shouldn’t surprise me, but it does, every single time. He sees my fears, my questions, and my uncertainties. I think the awe comes when I realize this: the God who spoke the world into existence and made it with such intricate detail and creativity that trees can communicate with each other about dangers and food sources. That very same God cares about my fears and understands my shortcomings.

When I feel like I’m walking far from His will for me, He gently reminds me that He is carrying me, that He has wiped out my offenses, casting them as far as the east is from the west. Life on this earth is never going to be perfect. We will have troubles, trials, and tribulations. We will have fears, and we will fall short. But here is the truth, friends, a hope that you can hold fast to. Our fears, sins, and messes have no power over us. No, really, it’s true. How? Because God loves us and has redeemed us in Jesus.

So, if you feel like you’re failing, falling, or have messed up so bad that God can’t forgive you. Take comfort in God’s words to us through the prophet Isaiah and know that you are redeemed in Him.

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22).

What am I thankful for today? Redemption.

Dec23

Day 357 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Grace That Covers Disobedience

Posted on by
Standard
Day 357 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Grace That Covers Disobedience

Recently, I was asked a question that I want to pose to you. If you were to give God a Christmas gift, what would it be? I had many answers: my heart, my soul, my love, and my praise. All good answers, all things that God deserves, because, well, He is God. However, as I have been going through my devotions in the Old Testament (currently in 2 Kings). I realized that what God wants above all things is our obedience. In 2 Samuel 15, God commanded Saul to completely wipe out the Amalekites, and by wipe out He meant everything, complete annihilation. But Saul did not obey, and in verse 22, Samuel, God’s prophet, says this to Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

As I think about what I would give God for Christmas, my answer is obedience. Not robotic, or fearful obedience, but obedience that comes from a heart that desires to give God my very best at all times. Does that mean I’ll never disobey? No. Will God forgive me when I fall and fail? Absolutely, that’s why Jesus came. Here’s a reminder, friend: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace“ (Romans 6:14). God desires obedience, but understands our weakness and gives us grace through Jesus, who fulfills the law so that we can live in grace.

Today, I am thankful for the grace that covers my disobedience.

Dec21

Day 355 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…My Weakness

Posted on by
Standard
Day 355 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…My Weakness

Do you sometimes feel weak, have feelings of inadequacy? Times when you’re fearful that if you move, you will fall flat on your face? Our weakness can be crippling, keeping us from moving forward, worried that if we do, we will fail for everyone to see. Here’s a truth that we often find hard to believe: don’t fear your weakness. Embrace it. Yup, I did say embrace weakness. Why? Because in our weakness God is strong. When we look at weakness through the lens of our humanity, we see it as less than or not good enough. However, when we look at weakness through the lens of God’s love and grace towards us, we, too, like Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, can hear God say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” To us, weakness, for the lack of a better word, is, well, weak. But God sees it as an opportunity for His power to be made perfect.

If the road you are walking seems to have more pits and potholes than paved paths. Don’t let fear of being too weak to make it keep you from taking that first step. God is there walking with us, and if we trust and believe, we will see His power being perfected in us.

“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40

Take heart, friends, God wants to show us beautiful, glorious, perfected power, so don’t fear your weakness. Embrace it.

Today I am thankful for my weakness.

Dec18

Day 352 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…(NOT) Failure

Posted on by
Standard
Day 352 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…(NOT) Failure

This year has been a year. We have been dealing with the pain of loss and the repercussions of bad decisions made. Making the year feel like one failure after another. If you are anything like me, that feeling of disappointing God and your loved ones is the most horrible in the world, and wallowing in that devastation becomes a playground for the accuser of our faith to remind us of our failures, faults, and flaws. But God has been teaching me that our struggles and shortcomings do not equal failure. Not to God. Where we see the bad we’ve done, our limitations, and mishaps, God sees opportunity.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

Let me say it again (for those in the back): struggling and falling flat on our faces does NOT mean we are failing. It means we are being refined and molded into the image of Him whose thoughts toward us are good. Struggles suck (yeah, I did use that word), they are painful and uncomfortable, and they make us feel like horrible humans. But, praise be to God, who tells us our struggles are momentary and working in us to achieve eternal glory. Don’t despise the struggle, friends, it’s a sign that God loves us.

Today I am thankful for (NOT) failure.