Stop Fearing Failure—and Trust God’s Grace

In Ecclesiastes 7:20 it says, “There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.” (GNT)

In America, failure is almost an unpardonable sin. Everyone idolizes success. But that kind of pressure creates major stress on people. The fear of failure has many different faces. It can cause us to be indecisive, a workaholic, or a perfectionist who clings to safety. Because we’re afraid to fail, we shun all kinds of risks.

For many, the fear of failure has an iron grip on the heart. Even some of the best and brightest people in the world are the most impacted by a fear of failure.

That’s why I urge you to internalize this one simple message: We’ve all made mistakes. It’s not just a “you problem”; it’s a human problem. The Bible says, “There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 GNT).

Not only have we made mistakes in the past, but we’ll also make more mistakes in the future. It's a guarantee. Even playing it safe and refusing to take risks is a mistake.

If we are asking, “What if I fail?”  We’ve already failed many, many times in life. We are likely a failure in some area of life right now. And we’ll fail a lot more in the future.

Even superstars stumble. The greatest professional basketball players only sink half their shots. The best professional baseball players will only get to base one out of every three at bats. Failure is normal.

We’ll never overcome the fear of failure until we can fully accept the reality that we’re not perfect.

The Bible says there is only one failure you need to fear: “Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace” (Hebrews 12:15 NCV).

We need grace!

Only when we let go of the fear of failure will it release its maddening grip in our life. Once that happens, we can fully accept God’s grace.