Don’t be Ashamed of Failure
2 Timothy 1:8 So don’t be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus. And don’t be ashamed of me—I am in prison for the Lord. But suffer with me for the Good News. God gives us the strength to do that.
Failure is something that we don’t like to talk about because as kryptonite is to Superman, so is failure to the success-oriented, success-worshipping mindset of today.
Doubtless you’ve had failures in your life – small ones that you managed to sweep under the rug so others wouldn’t notice, and spectacular ones that had people looking down their noses at you, criticising you, murmuring behind your back.
Most people would do just about anything to hide their failures from plain sight. But in a sober moment of reflection, I think each of us would acknowledge that anyone who sets out in faith to exercise their gifts and abilities for God’s glory is going to make mistakes; we’re going to have failures along the way.
So what do you do with those? How do you handle them? Again, here’s the Apostle Paul talking to his ministry protégé, Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:8 So don’t be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus. And don’t be ashamed of me—I am in prison for the Lord. But suffer with me for the Good News. God gives us the strength to do that.
Jesus looked like the biggest failure in all history, hanging there on that Cross. “Don’t be ashamed of Him.” Flash-in-the-pan Paul – well, what a loser he was, banged up in jail. “Don’t be ashamed of me.” And then, turning the focus on Timothy (and on us!) “Suffer with me for the Gospel.” (Remember, to us suffering equates to failure).
So what do you do with your failures? Don’t be ashamed of them. God will give you the strength to get through them.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
Blessed by this devotion?
Share it with a friend!
Respond