There are a thousand ways that we may fail, but there is only one Lord to whom we should go when we do. We don’t have to learn how to fail, for we surely can do it without trying, but for all of us, we need to learn how to fail with grace.
Fail with grace and succeed with humility. “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6 NKJV).
Failing with grace doesn’t excuse our failure, but it gives us an opportunity to learn from it. The grace from God is not there to have us remain in our failure but to rescue us from it. Grace can not only cover our sins; it can give us the power to overcome them.
God’s grace isn’t an excuse to sin, but the freedom from condemnation when we do. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2 NKJV).
Failing with grace doesn’t remove the consequences that may follow, but it will give us the strength to get through it. When we fail, the devil will use it to discourage us, but the Lord, in His grace, will use it to help us get ever stronger.
Be honest about your failures, and you’ll have more success. “The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who fall and raises up all those who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14 AMP).
We will most certainly fail, but will we learn to do so with the grace of God catching us as we fall? The devil will taunt us and tell us we need to try even harder. The Lord will console us and teach us to rely on Him going forward.
Don’t live in regret for your failures, but be in awe of all God would yet do through you. “Yes, God is working in you to help you want to do what pleases him. Then he gives you the power to do it” (Philippians 2:13 ICB).
There is no failure so great that grace cannot effectively work to save you. Even if you have failed in an area a thousand times, grace will never run out and always be more than enough to help you. God has no limits, and this is shown nowhere as much as it is in His endless grace.
When you’re honest with your failures, God is faithful to help you. “If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]” (1 John 1:9 AMP).
Grace is not a license to do wrong but a power to help you overcome it. If you enter into sin carrying the banner of grace, then surely you stain the gift that God is trying to give you. Grace is not earned by works, but works are the fruit of grace. His grace will change you if you let Him.
Stop looking for excuses to fail and find reasons to prevail. “For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil” (1 Peter 2:16 NLT).
Failing with grace is the best defense against the evil one and his accusations. The devil wants to shame you and let you wallow in your powerless and pitiful self. The Lord wants to change you and make you into something wonderful, powerful, and new.
If you only speak of your successes, then nobody will learn from your failures. “Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him. But after that, he will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness” (Micah 7:8-9 NLT).
When you fail with grace, it doesn’t mean the Lord will not discipline you. In fact, the more you put yourself in the hands of God, the more He will form you into something new. Jesus loves you so much that He will hurt you if that is what it takes to change you.
Unless you learn your lessons from your failures, you are bound to repeat them. “There is an old saying that ‘A dog comes back to what he has vomited, and a pig is washed only to come back and wallow in the mud again.’ That is the way it is with those who turn again to their sin” (2 Peter 2:22 TLB).
Failing with grace means we know we are saved by what Jesus alone did on that cross. When He died for our sins, He made grace come alive so that we might take hold of it. From before you were born, He already paid the price for every failure you would have in your life.
Stop thinking you’ve fallen from grace when you’ve landed right in the middle of it. “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]” (Hebrews 4:16 AMPC).
Failing with grace is the surest way to fail less often. When we throw down our shame and cast off the grip of the evil one, it is there that we will come to the Lord Jesus and give Him the right to all our lives. Until you die to yourself, the Lord Jesus is not yet fully alive in you.
You are either failing in yourself or having victory in Christ. “But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57 AMPC).
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius