I have plenty of cliche answers like perseverance, work harder, sometimes you need breaks, etc.
“Failure” itself is an elusive term, much like “success.”
I’ve failed morally…and I learned what my toughest temptations and how best to avoid them. I’ve learned I’m not perfect and I am capable of grievous sin if not checked.
I’ve had ministries and initiatives fail but they always taught me better ways to do it.
Ultimately, humility is failure’s lesson to me.
How do you measure spiritual maturity? By the number of verses memorized? By how much you give monetarily? No. Your spiritual maturity is revealed by your willingness to serve. And not just the “ministry” you have from how God shaped you but the spontaneous service you do for others.
This means that you aren’t too busy with life so that your service would be too limited. You have to be ready at the drop of a hat.
This means that you are paying attention to needs around you.
This means that you do your best with what you have.
This means that you do every task with equal dedication. Whatever you do, you do it with all your heart. Nothing is too menial.
This means that you faithful to your ministry. You finish what you started.
This means that you keep a low profile. Don’t promote or call attention to yourselves.
The hardest person for me to forgive has always been the one staring back at me in the mirror.
The faces of people I’ve hurt stuck in my memory like a video that’s paused.
I’ve hurt just as many people as people have hurt me.
I am not more moral than the person who hurt me, no matter how deeply they hurt me.
When we’re angry at someone for hurting us it’s so easy to feel superior to them. But until we recognize that we, too, are sinners, forgiveness will not be truly offered.
Thomas a Kempis,
Should you see another person openly doing evil, or carrying out a wicked purpose, do not on that account consider yourself better than him, for you cannot tell how long you will remain in a state of grace. We are all frail; consider none more frail than yourself.
Admitting our sinfulness is THE requirement for entry into the Kingdom of God. See Matthew 4:17 and Acts 2:38. That’s where we must begin!
Oswald Chambers,
Repentance does not bring a sense of sin, but a sense of unutterable unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am utterly helpless; I know all through me that I am not worthy even to bear His shoes. Have I repented like that? The reason God cannot come into my life is because I am not through into repentance.
