Failure Can Help Me Grow

In review of Proverbs 28:13 it says, “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful” (TLB).

Today’s verse is Proverbs 28:13. It reminds me that people who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

It's natural for me to hid my sins or overlook my mistakes. But it is hard to learn from a mistake I don't acknowledge making. What good is a mistake if it doesn't teach me something. To learn from error I need to admit it, analyze it, and make adjustments so that it doesn't happen again. Everyone makes mistakes, but only a fool will repeat them.

Something inside of me strongly resists admitting I was wrong. This is probably why I admire people who openly and graciously admit their mistakes and sins. These people have a strong self image. They do not always have to be right to feel good about themselves. I need to be willing to reconsider, to admit when I'm wrong and to change my plans when necessary. And remember, the first step toward forgiveness is confession.

We usually think of failure as something negative. But wise people know how to take advantage of it. They learn from it. They use it as an education. Failure is one of the primary tools that God uses in my life to make me what he wants you to be.

How can failure be good? God uses failure to educate us. Mistakes are simply learning experiences. Some lessons can only be learned through failure. The Bible says, “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB).

If I’m not making any mistakes, I’m not growing or learning. If I’m not taking any risks, I’m not growing. The freedom from the fear of failure is the freedom to grow.

God uses failure to motivate me. “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways” (Proverbs 20:30 GNT). Often I change when I feel the heat, not when I see the light. When I fail, God may be trying to get my attention to move me into a new direction.

God uses failure to build my character. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character” (Romans 5:3-4 TLB).

Failure has a way of softening my heart. It helps me grow up and become mature. It makes me more sensitive to others. It makes me less judgmental and helps me be a little more sympathetic to people around me who are hurting.

Failure won’t automatically grow my character. Failure just makes some bitter. But failure builds my character when I respond to it correctly and learn from it.

Bottom Line:

It's hard to succeed if you try to hide your sins. Confess and give them up, then God will show mercy to you.

What this means to me:

I will  never succeed in life if I try to hide my sins. Rather I need to learn to confess them and then give them up. If I do, then God will show mercy to me.

In summary, if I conceal my sins and not admit my mistakes, I will not prosper. If I confess and turn from them, I can receive mercy. It's hard to learn from a mistake I don't acknowledge making. To learn from an error I need to admit and analyze it, then then make adjustments so that it doesn't happen again. Failure is one of the primary tools God uses in my life to make me what he wants me to be. Mistakes are learning experiences. He will use them to build my character. Failure will build my character when I respond to it correctly and learn from it.