Who’s Robbing You of Your Confidence?
There’s a certain voice that robs me. It’s the one that says:
“You will never achieve your goals.”
"Why start something you won’t finish?”
“You never finish anything you start.”
I’m giving you the abridged version, because this is a voice that could go on and on in its negativity.
And if I look around my house for a few minutes, I find evidence the voice is right. There is the knitting basket. What’s in it? One pair of unfinished socks—meaning I’ve started both socks and neither is completed—one unfinished scarf, one almost-done sweater. I have unfinished sewing projects, diet projects, paint projects, garden projects, organizing projects, and then there’s that novel I’ve been working on for a year.
As far as I know, I can’t blame any of it on an Attention Deficit Disorder.
Is it any surprise, then, that I am glad not to be responsible for finishing the good work He began in me? “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”. Philippians 1:6
If I were responsible, I would wind up scrunched amid a heap of hobby and work paraphernalia with a knitting needle poking in my side.
Try to Remember: Failure Breeds Success
With each sunrise, I have to quiet that unedifying voice and choose to listen to the other one. The one that says:
“All those failures have prepared you for success.”
Ask most inventors and they’ll tell you that’s how it is. It took Thomas Edison a thousand failures to find the right filament for his light bulb. For every “winner” a company introduces to the market place, there are numerous flops. Ever heard of “OK Soda” or “Choglit”? Neither had I, until I saw an article on them. These are failed drink concoctions from Coke Industries.
Failure breeds success. When something doesn’t work, we alter the process and try again. Breakthroughs happen because failures point us in new direction. Maybe I would get those socks done if I joined a knitting circle. Or maybe knitting just isn’t my “thing.”
The ability to accept failure as part of the growth process means we keep faith that we’ll eventually succeed where God wants us to. We are not defined by failure just as we are not defined by success. Our value comes because we belong to the Father. Period.
1 Peter 5:6-7 says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
May you let the negative voices in your head dissipate into nothingness. May your failures point you in a better direction. And may you feel close to your Savior, allowing Him to guide you this day.
---
Thank you Lisa!!!! Next week, I'll be featuring a series of messages from Lisa about Destiny that you DON'T want to miss! I may even have something to say in the meantime. Until then, I remain...
"God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes."
Psalm 18:24 (Msg)
