Failure is a reality of life just as success is a reality of life. Those failures don’t define us. We should allow the scriptures to shape our priorities and our view of ourselves. We should also forge real relationships with each other so that we provide support and guidance to those of us who need it.
“I never once failed at making a light bulb. I just found out 99 ways not to make one.” This famous quote, by Thomas Edison, is used for a lot of inspirational messages. It encourages people to persevere through multiple failures, as each failure teaches us something new. But if you’re like me, every single one of those 99 failures hits like a brick.
Failure is not pleasant. And in today’s world, where people carefully curate their successes on their social media pages, it can feel as if everyone else is succeeding and leaving you behind. It can look like while you are struggling with work or family, and feeling like a failure, everyone else is excelling in their careers, having the perfect family life and living their best lives.
There are multiple reasons why failure happens. It can be because of things we have done or circumstances that are completely out of our control. So, how do we confront failure in our lives as Christians? How do we persevere through our failings so we can eventually make that lightbulb?
Where Do You Find Your Worth?
One reason why failure hits us so hard is that we sometimes let our failures or successes dictate our self-worth and value. We feel like we are on top of the world when we succeed and feel worthless when things don’t work out.
However, as we read in the Psalms: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). We were purposefully created by the God of the universe. We bear his image. Fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Our worth isn’t in our failures or successes. We have worth because we are made in the image of God.
Furthermore, John exhorts: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are” (1 John 3:1). The Bible regularly reminds us about who we are in Christ. And we need to continually drink from its deep well.