Thursday, January 31, 2013

Failure and Hope

"Do not throw away your confidence;...You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised." Heb 10:35-36

Failure is an inevitable and necessary experience on the road to transformation and a joyful faith life. Only when we fail, can we begin to experience our neediness and God's goodness. Failure leads to humility and the happy embrace of those who are willing to walk with us in our weakness and inadequacy.

Unfortunately, especially for those of us struggling with a prideful spirit, failure can also lead to a lack of confidence, but the author of Hebrews encourages us not to give up. An authentic life of faith is full of acts of endurance even when staying the course seems fruitless and silly. 

The insight of Hebrews is remarkable. How many of us have only learned about our true self through what seemed like a defeat. People in twelve step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous trumpet a strange wisdom. Gratitude for one's illness is appropriate and freeing since without it we would never have really known ourselves.

Today be grateful for a failure that taught you humility.

What are your most important memories of growth through failure?

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