When you fail there are Biblical guidelines which, if you follow them, can turn failure into success. To study these guidelines read the book of of Jonah.
Jonah was commanded by the Lord to go and preach repentance to the sinful nation of Ninevah. Instead of obeying God's voice, he headed in the opposite direction. Jonah took the following steps to correct his failure. These are steps you can take when you experience failure:
-When you fail, ask God to reveal the cause of that failure.
Be assured that God has ways of letting you know when you have failed. A great storm at sea revealed Jonah was out of the will of God. Jonah admitted his guilt after this revelation in Jonah 1:12. As long as you do not acknowledge your failure you will remain a failure:
Proverbs 28:13 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Do not let any excuse prevent you from admitting failure. Here are some common ones:
-"People will lose confidence in me."
-"If I admit failure it is admitting I was wrong."
-"I already failed. I might as well give up."
-"It's too late."
-"I am a bad example, so I should just quit."
-"I am too far out of God's will to get things right."
It is not necessary to reveal your failure publicly unless it has affected the lives of others and you must seek their forgiveness. But you must always admit your failure to yourself and to God. This is the first step to change failure to success: The sin must be revealed. You must confront it.
After the cause of your failure is revealed, you must repent:
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Jonah's great prayer of repentance is recorded in Jonah chapter 2. Jonah acknowledged his sin before God, repented, and asked forgiveness. When you fail, come before the Lord in repentance. Ask God to forgive you for your failure. Be sure to forgive yourself, too!
Through prayer, the written Word of God, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God will reveal to you the point at which your failure began. You must then return to that point and reverse your direction.
In the case of Jonah, he realized his failure began when he went the opposite direction from Ninevah. He had to return to this point of failure and reverse his direction. True repentance involves a change in direction. When you return to a point of failure you go back to where you first sinned and correct your error. This is done by restoration.
In the case of Jonah it began by heading the opposite direction from Ninevah. However, he reversed directions and he went towards Ninevah as he corrected his failure in Jonah 3:3. He did what he could to make things right. This is called "restoring.”
Sometimes you can do nothing to correct your failure except repent. In the example of David which we discussed, he could do nothing about his sin with Bathsheba after it was committed. The mistake was already made. The adultery was committed and her husband was dead. There was nothing he could do to correct it except repent.
But in situations where you can return to the point of failure and make restitution, you must do so. You may have to apologize to someone. You may have to return something you have stolen or admit you told a lie. These are all examples of restoration.
You also need time to restore yourself and rebuild your spiritual strength after failure. You may need to temporarily step down from ministry responsibilities. You will definitely need time alone with God.
Here are some ways to restore your spiritual strength:
-Study God's Word.
-Spend time in prayer and fasting.
-Review the basic causes for failure so you will be able to avoid future failures. Ask God to reveal and help you correct any problem areas in your life.
-Rest physically. Man is body, soul, and spirit. When your physical body is exhausted, Satan can take advantage and affect your soul and spirit and cause you to fail.
You can finish-just believe it and do it!
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