Experiencing Victory Over Failure
Study Text: Micah 7: 7 - 8
Introduction:
- Failure is something we all experience at different times and for various reasons, irrespective of our achievement, wealth, status, education or influence.
- Failure can take many forms. There are vocational failures, relational failures, character failures, physical failures and spiritual failures.
- When any of these happen in our lives, not only can we feel like we have failed, but we can feel like we are failures.
- Failure is an event, not a person. Your response to failure determines your level of success and accomplishment in life. It determines who you become as a person but more importantly, who you become in Christ.
- There are several examples of people, both in the Bible and in our generation, who have failed and risen above it to become something better and greater thereafter.
- But unfortunately, there are also people who have failed and it has kept them down and they became only a shadow of what they could have been.
- Failure happens to all of us, so we need to know how to respond to failure as follower of Christ. Because your response determines the path of your life and spiritual growth.
- We shall be discussing the topic under three subheadings:
1. The Realities of Failure
2. The Reasons for Failure
3. The Rising from Failure
1. The Realities of Failure.
- The longer you live, the more you will have to deal with failure. This is because life is full of challenges, difficulties and ups and downs. It is not a curse to fail, but it may be a curse not to rise after failure.
- The key to overcoming failure is to recognize that failure is not the end of life, and it can also be beneficial.
- God wants us to learn from our failures. He especially wants us to learn not to make the same mistake again. That was the experience of Peter, after he denied Christ three times.
- There are many things you can do to the glory of God. But if you let failure in one area or the other discourages you, you will never accomplish great achievement that you might have if you had not given in to the failure.
- All human beings fail in one area or the other, at one time or the other. God is fully aware of your limitations. Psalm 103:14
- God knows our limitations, and we must accept them as well. True success is not avoiding failure, but learning what to do with it.
- It is better to attempt things and fail, than never to attempt anything because you are afraid to fail. We never learn the limits of our ability until we reach the point of total failure.
- Fear is more damaging than failure. Worrying about what might go wrong will prevent you from moving ahead. Stop being afraid of failure and determine to succeed.
- Focus on your goals, not on your fears. Move ahead with determination. Many worthwhile achievements involve taking some risks. 2 Timothy 1:7
- Many people never overcome their failures because they never forgive themselves for failing. Instead of moving beyond failure to success, they continue to punish themselves with self-inflicted guilt. Isaiah 43: 18 - 19.
- To fail is not to be a failure. Everyone fails in one area or the other, sooner or later. The key to success is determining how you will handle your failure.
- If you try to hide it, it will haunt you. If you admit and confess it, you can conquer it. Forgive yourself and accept God’s forgiveness wherever and whenever necessary, as a genuine expression of His grace.
- Some people think they have failed, when in fact they simply have not recognized their limitations. God has given you certain gifts and abilities, which are different from that of others.
- You should realize that you may not be able to do everything you plan or wish to do, but you can do something that God enables you to do.
- Identify what you can do effectively, and concentrate your efforts on that, trusting in the grace of God to succeed. Stop worrying about what you cannot do.
2. The Reasons for Failure:
- We all experience setbacks, defeats, disappointments, losses and failures in certain areas of our lives. We all make mistakes at various point in time, even as we seek to serve God.
- The first thing to do when you are faced with any failure is to discover the reason why it happened. There are various possible reasons why people fail, some of which are:
1. Lack of Adequate Planning.
- If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail. Proverbs 27:12
- Moving forward in every area of your life requires a lot of planning. Where there is no adequate planning in one area or the other in your life, failure is inevitable in such area.
- Jesus talked about the great failure awaiting somebody who set out to build, or the one who set out for war without adequate planning.
- Joseph succeeded in helping Egypt out of the problem of famine that was to come, not only because he could see the vision of it coming, but also because he was able to guide them in planning adequately for it.
2. Pride or Confidence in Self.
- Proverbs 18:18 says, Pride leads to destruction and arrogance to downfall.
- The secret of success in all areas of life is humility, and confidence in what God can do through you and not what you can do by yourself. Proverbs 3: 5 - 8.
- One of the major cause of Peter's downfall and failure was pride. He thought he knew so much, and stronger than other disciples that he can not fail.
3. The Fear of Failure.
- The fear of failure itself can cause failure. We worry about what others will think of us if we fail, so we don’t even try.
- We fail to take advantage of golden opportunities. The reason the man that received one Talent in the Parable of the Talents failed was because of his fear of failure.
- Jonah eventually revealed to God in Chapter Four, why he ran away from the assignment initially. He knew God will have mercy on the people, and he did not want to be seen as a prophet that said something that didn't come to pass.
4. Lack of Endurance and Perseverance.
- Many times, success is just around the corner, but many people usually missed it, because they give up too easily.
- If King Saul could exercise a little bit of patience, he wouldn't have forced himself to offer the sacrifice that only a prophet could offer. As soon as he finished, Samuel appeared.
- The Prophet Daniel tells of a time when he prayed for days and days, never getting an answer to his requests before God. Daniel 10:12-14
- We must always remember that the game is often won in the final seconds. If at first you don’t succeed, don't give up, Keep on moving on.
5. Disobedience to God's Clear Instructions.
- The Bible is filled with practical instructions and guidelines form God about work, home, finances, relationships , health and all areas of our lives.
- When we fail to follow these directions from God, we are only asking for trouble, and there is no way to avoid failure. Joshua 1:8
- You are bound to run face first into failure when you walk in disobedience to the Word of God. Proverbs 14:12
- At any time you experience failure in one area or the other in your life, take steps to overcome the failure and rise to shine again.
1. Ask God for wisdom to understand the cause for your failure. James 1:5
2. Forget the past and focus on the future. You can’t change the past, so you may as well stop worrying about it. Philippians 3:13-14
3. Trust God to lift you up and restore you after failure. We serve a God of second chances, failure is never final unless you let it be.
- When Manoah missed the first Angelic visitation to his house, he prayed to God that the Angel should return the second time, and God granted his request.
3. The Rising from Failure.
- Failure is an event, it is not who you are. Failure is never final if you have unwavering faith in God, in His Word and His power.
1. Accept Responsibility for your Failure.
- The best way to overcome failure is to face it, learn from it and move on. Proverbs 28:13
- Instead of blaming others, claim responsibility. Instead of looking to someone else as the reason you failed, honestly look at yourself.
- King Saul was known for giving excuses and blaming others, and never accepting responsibilities for his failures.
- He gave reasons why he had to offer the sacrifice, and gave reasons why he had to spare some out of the things God asked him to destroy.
2. Never Lose Hope, Determine to Rise.
- You must refuse to accept failure as final regardless of how badly it appears you have failed. Determine to rise, and take a bold step of faith to come out of the failure.
- Judas was unable to rise after his failure, unlike Peter, because, he thought the failure has ended his life and ministry, and he has no hope of restoration.
- You must never lose hope, but with confidence in the God of hope you should accept failure as a learning experience, by then, you will assuredly keep going and keep growing.
3. Believe in your Heart and Confess with your Mouth that you will Succeed.
- Believe in your heart and declare by the words of your mouth that your dreams, your goals will come to pass despite previous setbacks. Proverbs 3:5-6
- We cannot focus on things that happened in the past. If we do, we will always remain the victim. Instead, we must elevate our thinking to concentrate on the good things in our lives, the things that are going right.
- Free your mind from mistakes of the past, bondages of the present and fear of the future. God not only forgives our sins, our mistakes of the past, He forgets them as well. Isaiah 43:25
4. Always Rejoice Amidst your Failure.
- No matter the adversity or the intensity of your previous failure, never give way to sadness, keep your joy. Psalm 30:5
- Joy comes in the morning. Joy follows weeping when God is at the core of your existence, when you are at peace with Him, worshipping Him for all He has done, is doing and will continue to do. Philippians 4:12-13
- Rejoice always as commanded by the scriptures, never give way to sorrowful moments. The joy of the Lord will give you strength to succeed and to overcome failure.
5. Work to Change your Life and not your Time.
- You cannot change your time. Time never changes, it remains the same 24 hours in a day. However, we do need to work to change our lives.
- The scriptures recommend that you remember where you have fallen, and take steps to overcome. Prayerfully identify the steps to take, adjustment to make, things and people to avoid, for you to come out victoriously over your failure.
- Decide each night what your priorities are for the next day. Operate with a timeline on what is important to you. Colossians 4:5
6. Develop a Faith that sees the Invisible.
- Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve through the grace of God. Mark 9:23
- The greatest limitations you will ever face in life are: self-imposed, self-maintaining and self-defeating limitations.
- God wants you to believe in possibilities, not limitations. He wants you living in excellence and not excuses. Believe your success, confess it by faith and pursue it with the strength of the Lord.
7. Be Committed to Prayers with Thanksgiving
- Effective prayers and thankfulness are critical to your future success. Colossians 3:15
- During your time with the Lord in prayer, ask Him to allow you to tap into previously unused potential, recognizing the opportunities God is sending your way as He has never done before.
- Thank God for failures and successes of the past, and thank Him for a better and greater tomorrow.
8. Confess your Failure to God.
- Your failure can not catch God unaware. God is never surprised by our failures.
- Of course God sees and knows about our failures, so we should turn to Him first, confessing our failures and seeking direction from Him.
- God does not seek success, He only seek for our faithfulness. And when we turn to God, we draw upon the power of the resurrection to overcome failure so that it doesn’t become a stumbling block but a stepping stone.
Conclusion:
- There is a possibility of failure in any area of life and at any time. But failure is not the end of life, because we serve a God of restoration.
- Identify your failure, the possible reasons, and trust God to guide you in the necessary steps to take for your rising out of failure into an outstanding success.
- Foresee your success, believe it, confess it, pursue it and by the grace of God, possess it.
