Don't Be Afraid To Fail

Don't Be Afraid To Fail

"Thus you will walk in the ways of good men, and keep to the paths of the righteous."
Proverbs 2:20

Recently, as I was counseling a young man, who had just declared bankruptcy, due to some bad financial decisions, I was reminded of the story of Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents. President Lincoln, had lost 8 previous elections that he entered, until his last attempt which was for the presidency, and had suffered defeat and failure in many aspects of his life prior to this time. No one likes to fail, but failure is a part of life. It is something that we all have to experience from time to time. The key, however, is how do you respond when you fail? There are some valuable tips you need to learn from failure. The first is to accept responsibility for your failure, as you will not be able to move forward if you point the blame of failure on others. Don't use the excuse that someone else was to blame, but accept responsibility for it. Learn from your mistakes, don't make them again, and move forward. The second is not to let your loss or failure keep you from trying again. Many people become so devastated by failing, that they simply refuse to try again. You can't move ahead in life if you are afraid of losing or failure. Instead of losing and failing making you weak, they can make you strong. The third is to remember that there is no failure with God. You can't fail when you are serving the Lord. When you are following the will of God, He will give you the wisdom to make the right choices. Pray about the choices you make each day, and ask God for His wisdom and guidance. Fourth, if you do fail at something consider the fact that God may be closing the door to the path you are following, as He wants to lead you on another path. When you trust God, he will lead you to the path of the righteous.
My Daily Devotional Volume Six
May 24
Robert William Brock, Jr.