12 Apr Not Everything but Something

One thing which is common to all mankind is that we all fail. There is no one who has not failed. But the most important thing is how we handle failure. The Canadian actress Mary Pickford reportedly said “To fall is not to fail, unless you fail to get up again”. The Bible also has something to say about this, “a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again” Proverbs 24:16.The author of Proverbs reminds us, do not give up. The process of spiritual growth and maturity is just the beginning. Philippians 1:6, says, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. God has started something in you that will continue until Christ returns or you go to be with Him. Failure is not the end. It is just a trouble spot along the way.

When some of us think that we have failed, the fact is that we have not recognized our limitations. God has given us certain gifts and abilities with which we have to serve Him. You cannot do everything, but you can do something for God. Identify what you can do effectively, and concentrate your efforts on that. Stop worrying about what you cannot do. For example, no one can swim across a lake the first time he tries. He must break the objective down into attainable units. By simplifying our objectives, we increase our potential for success.

1. Accept your feeling: When you have failed it will hurt. Don’t try to push it away by distracting yourself or by trying to push the responsibility onto the rest of the world. And don’t try to paint it over with a smile. Try to let it in and to hurt for a while instead of trying to reject it all and to keep it away. If you reject how you really feel those emotions will pop up at unexpected times later on and can make you moody, pessimistic, angry or sad.

2. Learn from failures: I have found that the simplest and the most helpful way to do that is to ask myself better questions. Questions like: What’s one thing I can learn from this? How can I adjust my course to avoid this same mistake and likely do better next time? What’s one thing I can do differently the next time? Take some time with these questions and be honest with yourself as you answer them. There’s no rush and while some of the answers may be immediate others might take an hour, day or even a week to pop up.

3. Keep A Clear Conscience: Failure brings discouragement and when we ponder about our failures, we may feel guilty. A clear conscience is the direct opposite of a guilty conscience. To clear your conscience, remove all obstacles of guilt. Every time you honestly confess your sins you remove the guilt that is in your conscience and thereby eliminate fear and anxiety. When your conscience is clear, you are no longer looking over your shoulder wondering who is going to expose you. Your fear is gone because you have nothing to hide.

4. Improve your self-esteem: Remember that everyone has his drawbacks. Secondly, remember that you are a person loved by God who is the Creator, Righteous, Holy, Loving, Good, and not capable of any evil. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you. You can receive Christ by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart.
Thus remember “You cannot do everything, but you can do something for God”

Amar Nath
UESI Staffworker
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh