Simply put, failure is a part of life for all of us here on planet earth! And yet, even though we know this (and experience it regularly), we’re somehow still surprised when it happens! In today’s social media age, where only “success” is portrayed, we need to remember (and to teach our children) to expect failure! And we also need to know what God says to do with our failures (and to keep in mind that he often brings great good out of them).

Failure is defined as a lack of success in doing something. It’s coming short of a performance standard that we have set for ourselves or that others have set for us. It may be something that is our fault, (like failing an exam because we didn’t study enough), or someone else may be to blame (like when a business fails because someone embezzled money from its accounts). And sometimes we can have a sense of failure when we have not actually failed (like losing a job in a re-organization). So, with these definitions in mind, what does the Bible teach us about failure and disappointment?

Well, a lot. Failure and disappointment are on just about every page of the Bible. From Adam and Eve in the first book of the Bible, to the failures of the individual churches in Revelation (the last book of the Bible), it is full of family failures, friendship failures, leadership failures, health failures, spiritual failures etc. The Bible paints a very real picture of the various troubles we will encounter in this life and makes it very clear that we should expect to fail from time to time!

Over the next few days, we will look at a few lessons the Bible teaches regarding failure, but our scripture passage for today reminds us that God is not surprised when we “fall” (or fail). If our hearts are surrendered to him, we will be led by him step by step, through his word, our thoughts, affections, plans, and even through our failures; often without our being consciously aware of it. He will keep us from being ruined by our “falls” (or failures) into sin or trouble and will use it for our good and his glory. Nothing is wasted in God’s economy! He never leaves us or forsakes us! And he does not let us flounder in our failures; but tenderly, by his grace and Holy Spirit, holds our hand in and through it!