I watched my 10-month-old crawl off the couch and fall on the floor, not being able to catch her in time to stop her from falling. Her little brain must have told her that there would be something to catch her fall. She does not yet understand the concept of hurt and pain. She cried badly and my heart broke. When all was said and done, she fell asleep. The Holy Spirit reminded me that if we all lived like she did, knowing that there was someone to catch us, we would be able to achieve so much.

This got me thinking. If I knew, I mean really knew that whatever I did I would prosper and failure was not an option, would I take more chances? Would I do everything that God has told me to do without thinking of consequences because I knew He was my buffer? We tend to see the failure before we see the success in any situation. Why is that? Are we just wired that way? Is it in our DNA? What makes us think we will fail even before we tried? We see failure as a bad thing, but is it really? The bible says

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.”

The point here is “they will get up again”. Just as my little one got up again and started crawling all around the house as if the fall was just a bump in the road and didn’t deter her from moving again.

We know that as Christians, our lives are held in God’s hands. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us in everything we do. If we listen to the Holy Spirit and follow what He tells us to do, then, how can we fail? I think it’s because we try to control what we have been assigned, that is why we see all the things that could go wrong with the assignment. If you see yourself as a caretaker of a task, then whatever you do is not from your own mind but from the master’s. You know that whatever the outcome is, it will be good. I read a quote from John C Maxwell that said,

“God uses people who fail—'cause there aren't any other kinds around.”

If we know that God uses people who fail, why do we avoid it? Proverbs 3:6 says it explicitly

“Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

I bolded those words, so you notice them. All you do, meaning in your waking up, exercising, reading a book, cooking food, going to school, investing in business/stock, beginning a business, marrying someone, deciding how many children to have, etc. That way, you are guaranteed success. And if a bump in the road happens which it will, because God told us so, “I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.” Just brush it off your shoulders and keep moving on. If you do not you will become like the ungodly man in Proverbs who “one disaster is enough to overthrow”.

Once we become Christians, our minds become renewed, meaning we start to think like Christ. Colossians 3:10 NLT says,

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.”

Once we become like him, we realize that failure is but a part of life, it is not something to break us, neither is it to ruin our lives. It is there that we might learn and move forward. Babies fall when they first try to walk, it hurts but they keep moving on. They hurt when they start growing teeth but that doesn’t stop them from bringing it all out because if it does, then there is a problem. Athletes hurt themselves and break bones but that does not stop them from healing and moving forward. We (Christians) do not let failure stop us because our mandate is God-given and will always end in success because He is the invisible table/chair that holds us when we take the leap off the couch. Remember, “And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”