Just because we make a mistake doesn’t mean God loves us any less. When our behaviors and actions cause us to suffer it leads to repentance. True repentance sets the way for a new beginning and way of life. Bad behaviors and decisions lead us to regret. I learned many lessons from my failures over the years and I hope the one reading this will gain something from it. The three main things I’ve learned are to follow God’s path for your life, forgive yourself and others, and failures can cause you to grow.
Follow the Path God Has Led
God will guide you in all your decisions. You have to want to be led by Him. Once you seek God for an answer and it is revealed to you, take action. Sometimes the answers from God are not what we want to hear. Going against that may lead to failure. In one of my past relationships, I prayed for God to remove the person from my life if they were not for me. The next day they told me they had a job offer in another state. This was my answer, but I didn’t have the strength to let them go. I paid for it in tears and frustration. After some time the relationship failed. I thought I could go in my own way and sustain the relationship even though God opened the door for this person to be out of my life. It was a failure but I learned to obey God and trust his judgment. It was something I should have done but out of my foolishness, I choose to learn the hard way.
I sought God’s insight into my situation but I didn’t follow the path he led me to. I went in my own way. The answer to my prayer didn’t align with what I wanted in my heart.
Forgive Yourself, Forgive Others, Move On
We all fall short. There are still times I do things and look back and wonder what was I thinking. If I dwell too long on my thoughts, my attitude changes. I began to feel shame and sadness for my own actions or what others have done to me. Forgiveness is something I struggle with because I find myself trying to do it in my own strength. I have realized that you have to hold onto God during your trials because his grace and mercy are the only way you can get through some things in your life.
Jesus is our strength when we feel like we can’t do it on our own. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 , Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. We need the strength of our Lord so that we can move forward in life and accomplish the purposes God has predestined for us. Sometimes we have to throw our hands up and cry out to God that we need Him and that we can’t do it on our own. Only through Christ are we renewed and restored.
Failures Cause Us To Grow
Our failures can cause us to grow into better people or bitter people. The choice is up to each individual. We grow from our failures when we realize the mistakes in our decisions and decide to change course. It takes maturity to set goals and take action to change. Years ago, I would find myself in situations I had no business in. Now, you wouldn’t catch me in certain places and around certain people because I grew up.
My past decisions led me down a dark path I no longer want to travel down. I thank God for the insight I’ve gained from reading his word and online mentors. I made the decision to remove people from my life and replace them with things of the Lord. No, everything in my life isn’t perfect, but I’m not who I use to be. I only grew when I decided I wanted to and put forth the effort to change.
