There's A Future After FAILURE!

"And he went out and wept
bitterly" (Luke 22:62)

In my last post, I shared with you my desire to become all that God wants me to be!  My pastor's current sermon series:  Being Brutally Honest, has given me much to pray about while on this path.  One in particular,  maintaining a pure heart was eye-opening (Matthew 5:8).  As I examined my own heart, I wasn't totally surprised with what I discovered... but it was quite sobering.

You see, like some of you, I suffer from atychiphobia (fear of failure).  Yep! I finally found a name for my obsession with details, over preparation, and the level of frustration I experience when things don't quite turn out the way I want.  Especially, when in most cases, care was taken to cover all the bases and I thought I had anticipated every need! 

My ministry philosophy for more than three decades has been, My excellency for Christ Who does all things well (Mark 7:37). That coupled with this warning: Not many of you should become teachers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness (James 3:1-2) has set me on over drive.  So much so that I put too much emphasis on verse 1 and not enough on verse 2.  For we all stumble in many ways.  And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

The stumbling part, a confession of error, as one bible commentator put it, was what I was trying to avoid. But today, I thank God for revelation! God CAN use imperfect people and imperfect situations to accomplish His will!  Sisters, I've decided to cut myself some slack the next time I perceive that something is a failure!

Perhaps you should do the same. I'm learning that: (a) Perfection does not equal good character! If my motives are not right, and to get things just so, I must offend or alienate someone; I should fear my own character flaws rather than any flaws in the task!

(b) My personal worth is not measured by how many times I fail!  Nathan Chen, USA figure skater in this year's Olympic, had a terrible showing, his first two rounds of free-styling. Yet he came back the third time with more determination and performed with such finesse and skill that his two other failures became nothing more than sports anecdotes.  God doesn't expect perfection, only progress toward the end goal of spirituality!

(c) The bible is filled with people who failed and failed miserably only to be heralded as men and women of great faith!  The Apostle Peter readily comes to mind. How many times did he have to swallow his prideful words when tested only to find himself inadequate! Denying our Lord, not once but three times in the high priest's courtyard (Luke 22:54-62).  Yet, before Christ's ascension He restored him to full apostleship in good standing (John 21:15-25).

So dear ones, I'm telling myself Get Over Yourself and put that atychiphobia in check! Failure is not the end!  In many cases it is the necessary means to assure that God gets all the glory and I stay dependent on Him.  Learning how to fail is the key to being joyful in success!

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

If you would like to leave a comment please send an email to: sisters4sisters@att.net OR  scroll to the bottom of my blog page at  http://alittlewiser63.blogspot.com  click on the  no comments by the pencil and it will change to a writing space.

  

Becoming MORE of Who You Already ARE!!

 "His divine  power has granted
us all things that pertain to
life and godliness...(2 Peter 1:3)

The year 2018 is already showing wonderful possibilities for the Saints at my church! We're being challenged corporately to Become all that God would have us to be! (Psalms 1:1) This is our church theme for the year and of course spiritual growth is the ultimate goal!  (2 Peter 3:18)

It has been declared boldly, through sermons, prayers, and bible studies that this is not the time for nominal Christianity. We must live out our faith in Christ, both passionately and vibrantly! How else can we expect to make a difference in this increasingly dark world.

This whole concept of Becoming, speaks to change and deliberate movement toward an end. These are two things that most of us are not especially comfortable.  It is so easy to become complacent with Sunday morning religion isn't it? Put on a little Jesus once a week, come home, eat, and forget about Him until next Sunday!  Easy but no longer efficient!  We need MORE to survive these turbulent last days. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) But as the accompanying quote to this blog states: Life isn't about getting more. It's about becoming more! [end of quote] Becoming More of Who You Already Are!

God's Word assures of that we can and will change if we have a sincere faith in Jesus Christ.  From the moment of salvation our raison d'être (reason for being) is to conform to the image of our Lord (Romans 8:29) -- to become more like our Savior! This is not a hopeless task! We have a Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)

I read once a great illustration that described the difference between a costume and a uniform and in our case, some who call themselves Christians:

A costume is something you put on and pretend that you are what you are wearing.   A uniform reminds you that you are in fact what you wear!  Often we need to be reminded that in Christ:

1. WE ARE a new creation (2 Corin. 5:17)

2. WE ARE no longer slaves to our past but Heirs to the kingdom of God (Gal. 4:7)

3. WE ARE bought with a price and every part of you is precious (I Corin.  6:19)

4. WE ARE Salt and Light in this evil world (Matt. 5: 13-14)

5. WE ARE more than conquerors and can live victoriously (Rom. 8:37)

Living Holy is not about how much you tithe, how often you go to church, and calculating every good deed you've done since salvation.  It is the knowledge of knowing that YOU ARE fully equipped and motivated to become more of who you already are in Christ (Ephes. 2:10).

BE ENCOURAGED MY SISTERS!

**Attention Blog Readers: Sharon Tubbs, author of Living In The Pink, has just released her new book, The Healing Place, now available on her website only: GoMoveForward.com  Check out what the indomitable Sis. Pinky is up to to see if she has what it takes to face her biggest challenge ever!  

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

If you would like to leave a comment please send an email to: sisters4sisters@att.net OR  scroll to the bottom of my blog page at  http://alittlewiser63.blogspot.com  click on the  no comments by the pencil and it will change to a writing space.