I have always struggled with failure. That struggle has come to me very naturally; even as a child the idea of failing at anything would bring me to tears. Once, in first grade, I could not remember how to spell "carnation" on a spelling test. Ashamed that I would not get a 100% on the test, I began to cry my 7 year-old heart out. My teacher, likely perturbed by my need for perfection, walked over and whispered the spelling in my ear so I could write it down, and I got that 100% that I felt so entitled to..
Unfortunately, we don't always have someone who can whisper in our ear the right answer.We often have to make decisions blindly and make some big mistakes. There are days when I feel like a failure, usually my failures are areas of sin I struggle with. At home as a mom, I am less patient then I want to be. In my marriage, a harsh word coming from my mouth may haunt me for weeks. As a friend, I really suck at staying in contact with people. I fail in my flesh; impure thoughts race through my mind; I linger on an inappropriate television show a little too long.
It's not the moment of failure that gets me hung up, it's the spiritual warfare afterwards that dashes me to pieces. Satan uses these moments to have me question my position in Christ: righteous, redeemed, adopted. How do we confront the enemy when we fail, how do we keep him from taking hold of our sins to use them against us? If you are like me, I want to share with you a verse that has significant impact in my life.
Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
9 Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case
and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see his righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her downfall;
even now she will be trampled underfoot
like mire in the streets.
-Micah 7:8-10
Do not allow yourself to be covered in shame from your failures. Yes, deal with them, confess and repent, but do not allow Satan to use them against you. The Lord has already pleaded your case; the price has been paid. I meditate over this scripture, I have even said it aloud in some low moments in my life. I am a daughter of the most high, though I may fall, I will rise.
Unfortunately, we don't always have someone who can whisper in our ear the right answer.We often have to make decisions blindly and make some big mistakes. There are days when I feel like a failure, usually my failures are areas of sin I struggle with. At home as a mom, I am less patient then I want to be. In my marriage, a harsh word coming from my mouth may haunt me for weeks. As a friend, I really suck at staying in contact with people. I fail in my flesh; impure thoughts race through my mind; I linger on an inappropriate television show a little too long.
It's not the moment of failure that gets me hung up, it's the spiritual warfare afterwards that dashes me to pieces. Satan uses these moments to have me question my position in Christ: righteous, redeemed, adopted. How do we confront the enemy when we fail, how do we keep him from taking hold of our sins to use them against us? If you are like me, I want to share with you a verse that has significant impact in my life.
Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
9 Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case
and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see his righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her downfall;
even now she will be trampled underfoot
like mire in the streets.
-Micah 7:8-10
Do not allow yourself to be covered in shame from your failures. Yes, deal with them, confess and repent, but do not allow Satan to use them against you. The Lord has already pleaded your case; the price has been paid. I meditate over this scripture, I have even said it aloud in some low moments in my life. I am a daughter of the most high, though I may fall, I will rise.