To fail is to fall short, to be perceived as weak, to break down, to fall, to not reach your purpose, to lack success. No wonder we are all so afraid of failure! When it comes to failure, we must decide whose rules we are playing by. Would you rather be a success in business and a failure as a parent, or vice versa? Would you rather be successful by the world’s standards or God’s? Now is the time to decide what definitions of success and failure you will live by.*

Often, we can become stuck in the present by our past mistakes and failures. How can we move forward effectively, learning and growing from our mistakes, and letting them go at the same time? Learning how to forgive yourself starts with accepting that God has already forgiven you.

You need to understand a few things when it comes to seeing failure through God’s eyes:

• You are human and will make mistakes; we all have weaknesses. Therefore, we must learn to live with our failures. Strong character is developed in accordance with how you deal with your mistakes and move on from them.
• Remember that failure is actually important for your development. Mistakes can teach us vital lessons about what to do differently in the future, which helps us avoid repeating them!
• It is within your weakness that He is best able to teach and strengthen you: “Realize that God’s work is not limited by our failures. He does not reject us in our weakness but rather embraces us so that we can receive strength to be all He intended us to be.”*
• God doesn’t hold our failures and mistakes over us; he gives us limitless grace and mercy. His love totally outweighs any mistake you have made, so you can begin to forgive yourself in this knowledge. And He designed you to have a loving relationship with him. Thus, “failure” in God’s sight is your living outside of the way He intended you live. Your biggest mistake would be to reject your loving creator. As such, this kind of failure is really hard to achieve for those who keep their eyes on Him.

Your history and your mistakes do not define who you are. Your identity is in Christ, not in any event or words said in the past. Letting go and moving on from failure can be achieved through the love of God, which leads to your acceptance and pursuit of the person He intended you to be.

Our friends at Way Nation sat down to discuss this topic with Tenth Avenue North’s lead singer, Mike Donehey. Donehey reveals his struggles with letting go and moving on. He finds grace and infinite mercy within his Creator’s arms, giving him the strength to discover self-forgiveness and his true identity in Christ. Check it out:

Want to know more about the amazing HelpFinder Bible featured in the video? Get the details here >>

*Excerpted from the HelpFinder Bible.