Skip to main content

It’s Time to Redefine Failure - Rick Warren



Daily Hope Devotional Sunday 31st July 2016
By Rick Warren


“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” 
- Proverbs 29:25 NIV
Satan’s favorite tool to diminish your faith is the fear of failure. But you cannot serve God and be constantly worried about what other people think. You have to move forward. Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (NIV).

So how do you get rid of the fear of failure?

One way is to redefine failure. What is failure? Failure is not failing to reach your goal. Failure is not having a goal. Failure is not failing to hit your target. Failure is not having a target. Failure is not falling down. Failure is refusing to get back up. You’re never a failure until you quit. So if you’re attempting something for the glory of God, that’s a good thing. Failure is not trying and not accomplishing anything. Failure is failing to try.

Another way to get rid of the fear of failure is to never compare yourself to anybody else. You’re always going to find somebody who’s doing a better job, and you get discouraged. And, you’re always going to find somebody who’s not doing as good a job as you are, and you become full of pride. Both of them will mess up your life. Discouragement and pride will keep you from serving God’s purpose for your life.

The Bible says in Galatians 6:4, “Each of you must examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others" (GW)

Did you notice that the Bible says there is a legitimate pride? There’s a good kind of pride and there’s a bad kind of pride. The bad kind of pride is comparing: “I’m better than so and so!” The good kind of pride is, “God, I’m proud of what you’re doing in my family, my business, my life, my walk of faith.” That’s the good kind of pride.

When you get to Heaven, God isn’t going to say, “Why weren’t you more like so and so?” He’s going to say, “Why weren’t you who I made you to be?”

Let go of your fear of failure, because anything you’re attempting for God in faith is a good thing, regardless of the results.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

  •     How has your fear of what other people think kept you from moving forward in faith?
  •     In what ways are you using your gifts and abilities to work toward your goals?
  •     What failures have kept you from pursuing your goals and dreams? What do you think God wants you to learn from those     setbacks?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Can you ruin your destiny?

God had something in mind when He created you, right? But what if you’ve screwed up? Dropped out? Quit before it was over? Maybe you decided to do your own thing, it didn’t work out, and now you’re just sucking air and hoping there’s still hope. Guess what? There is! For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. (Romans 11:29 NLT) You don’t even have to start over. Every single thing you failed at? God will use it. (Romans 8:28) Every shot you called that was way off? God will repurpose it. (Proverbs 19:21) Every weakness you thought you had to hide? God’s power will show through it. (2 Corinthians 12:9) God created you for good works. As soon as you quit the past and sell out for Jesus, those works will happen. (Ephesians 2:10) He’s establishing you, step by step. (Proverbs 16:9) God’s a good Father. He knows how to bring you back and take you further than you ever imagined. (Ephesians 3:20) Spend some time really reflecting on these truths. What do you secretly hope is p...

Marriage Booster: Do You Still Love Her/Him ?

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Ephesians 5:25 KJV "This is what I love about you" In the beginning you love everything about him. You are captivated by his six pack, his spirit of adventure, and his lion’s heart. In the beginning you love everything about her. You go crazy with the swing of her hips, a wink or a chewy chocolate cake baked especially for you. One day you wake up. Daily routine has shattered your rose-tinted glasses. “His six pack is not so hot anymore, instead his joints creak with every move.” Or: “It would be better if she swung her hips into a gym one of these days.” You realize: “My partner has changed.” Fortunately! He isn’t standing still. The problem is not the change but rather, that you are a creature of habit. It is your task to rediscover your partner and to simultaneously not forget why you went up the aisle with sparkling eyes to marry your bride/groom. MARRIAGE BOOSTER Write d...

Called to Be Peculiar

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:15-16) Being peculiar. That's not something most of us work to achieve, is it? But, you know, we should. God has called us to be peculiar—to stand out from the rest of the world as living proof of His power and His love (1 Peter 2:9). He doesn't, for example, want us to share the ailments of the world. He doesn't want us to share their sickness and poverty and failure. He's never wanted that for His people. He gave us a physical illustration of that during the time the nation of Israel was held captive in Egypt. Pharaoh had refused to set the Israelites free, so God had allowed a thick darkness to cover the whole land. The darkness was so dreadful throughout Egypt that no one moved for three days. "But," says Exodus 10:23, "all the children of Israel had light in their ...