If our identity is in our work, rather than Christ, success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts. Timothy Keller
Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I shall live; do not let my hopes be dashed. Uphold me, and I shall be delivered; I shall always have regard for your decrees. You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their delusions come to nothing. Psalm 119:116-118 New International Version
The One-Two Punch
You think you hear from God and then you step out in the direction you felt He said go and you fail. Been there and done this. Disappointment comes in and brings disillusionment and like the thieves they are, they try to steal your God vision you thought you had been given. Then comes the doubt one-two punch from the enemy!
Lord, strengthen my inner being by the promises of your word so that I may live faithful and unashamed for you. Lift me up and I will be safe. Empower me to live every moment in the light of your ways. Psalm 119:116-117 The Passion Translation
Drop Back And Punt
Was this really God? Were you led by God or led by what you wanted? Disappointment, Disillusionment, wants to define us by their tags of: #NotGoodEnough #AlwaysSecondPlace #NeverAWinner #Failure and we can’t let these tags stick to our spirit. There were times I truly felt, I had heard from God, and the details came into being but it just did not succeed the way I planned, the way I thought it would. At those times, I have dropped back to punt, took the lesser points and reorganized my offense from God’s Word and wisdom.
God positioned you to change the game. This is the Purpose of favor. Everything that God does has purpose. His works thru your life is designed to change the game, change the thinking and ultimately change lives. Change is good as it places you one step deeper into favor. T. D. Jakes
I Have An Advocate
My identity can’t be in the things of this world that I started that ended in failure. I am a child of the living God, I am His daughter, I am His heir and my identity is in Him. It is a Rock Solid Identity. I do not pursue God’s approval, I have it. God demonstrated how much He loved and loves me; I see that every time I see a cross. I know He is for me. He initiated the greatest transformation ever known to mankind and that was: death to life. He did that because He wanted me, forever. He left me with His Holy Spirit, my navigator, my advocate and my only friend, Who does not have a human condition to fail me or disappoint me. Jesus is all I need. Jesus is Who I anchor my identity to. Jesus is my purpose and the Way-Maker of His Glory through me.
Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. Proverbs 3:5-6 Amplified Bible
Reset Your Focus
I don’t understand God’s ways. Especially when you want to serve Him and it doesn’t work out. God gives you a passion to share His life with others and when you feel like you have a way to do that and it fails, it doesn’t take off, it just fizzles out, you feel discouraged. This can leave you disillusioned with your listening relationship with God, and if you don’t deal with the heart issue discouragement causes, it can turn into a fear of stepping out when God asks. When we feel disheartened, we need to take our eyes off the situation and stop asking the “why” question. It always ends well when we let go of our worldly perspective and let God explain, when His timing deems it to be purposefully perfect, He helps us understand His way. Peace comes when we reset our focus off of our failure and onto God and let go of the need to understand. This is trust. This is the way of God’s peace
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT
Stop And Drop
When you fail at something you went into thinking was going to succeed, a good thing to do is take a “time out” check your heart, it is so easy to be self-deceived and think everything is okay within your inner spiritual core. Sometimes you need a minor adjustment, and sometimes you need a huge alignment to come back in line with where God is. Followship is never easy. Why? Because we have a human condition. Renewal, revival, replenishment are three beautiful things that come when we just stop, drop and cry out to God in that heart to heart kind of way. We so need that; our soul so needs only what humility can bring to it as we lay down the past and look forward to our future hope.
Be free from pride-filled opinions, for they will only harm your cherished unity. Don’t allow self-promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility put others first and view others as more important than yourselves. Abandon every display of selfishness. Possess a greater concern for what matters to others instead of your own interests. And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation. Philippians 2:3-5 The Passion Translation
The Good Fail ~ The Bad Succeed
Our normal human reaction to a failure is pride. I just don’t understand how this could happen to me. I thought I had the right motive. Why God, Why? It just doesn’t seem fair that people who are doing bad things, they seem to have more favor, to win and succeed than people who are doing good things. Why would God not let the good succeed and the bad fail? These are all questions that come up when disillusionment settles into your soul with his friend, doubt coming alongside. When we find ourselves stopped at a failure, this is a life crossroad for us. We have a choice one being the way of which we will cross over into a deeper pride, a bucked up will or the one where we will humble ourselves under the Sovereign Will of God. Been there and done both. Learning from the consequences of choosing pride, I don’t recommend it.
“Your actions are important, what you are doing and why you are doing it. Never underestimate your actions. God has an entrusted purpose for you with something and someone and He will reveal it to you. and when He does, pick it up!” Carson Goslee
Who Is Your Source?
God knows what He is doing. Never doubt Him when you have failed. Everything in our lives has purpose, this is how God rolls. You have a dream, it died. What now? Do you react with pride or do you respond with humility? Our actions will determine our next steps and our outcomes to follow. First thing we have to tackle is finding out Who, is our approval source. Who are we looking to for approval? This “Approval Source” should be Jesus, because He is the Only ONE who can fully and totally approve of you. He sees all. He knows all about us. He is the only One who has total access to the full story of our life.
I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 TPT
We Are Becoming
We may “think” we are a failure, but we are not. Jesus Christ lives in us and that makes us important beings that are becoming more and more like Him. Jesus chose us. Jesus believes in us. Jesus trusts us with His mission. The way to stay on mission is to stay in vital-vertical relationship with Jesus, being taught daily by His Holy Spirit. Heart to heart with God, together, we are good, we are not a failure. Our lives are who we are becoming. We were made in God’s Image, every single one of us and every day, His purposes are in play for our good. God is shaping the design He started in us and He uses all things to do that, even failure, but His endgame is magnificent.
“Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”
Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Micah 7:8 New Living Translation
Step Out With Humility
Have you failed recently? I know I have. Not sure how to proceed as I sit in this failure, but I know followship of Jesus, will step me right out of it. Got failure in your life path? The darkness of failure is not pervasive to our soul, if we step out of it with humility. Humble yourself. Look up. Listen up. Watch, wait and see, because even though failure is in our past, today, God is Present with us and our future is bright, because our God is finishing what He started in us. We are taught, we are learning and growing and it is well with our soul. Remember Who He Is ~ Remember WHOSE You Are.
Thank you for stopping into the Author Table. This year I am learning and growing in how to be “Intentionally Kingdom Cultured” and this meal, it is definitely a strengthener for your inner spiritual core. Please share it with others by using the Social Media buttons below. Leave me a message and let me know how this meal strengthened you today. Everyday we need spiritual food, we need to Listen UP to God’s Voice. I have the perfect book for you, “The Bridegroom’s Voice” it is such a unique God Adventure for you to take to strengthen your Vital-Vertical Relationship with God. Purchase it today and begin your “Journey With Jesus”. God bless you, Much. KimberlyMac
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