Fear of Failure
Ponder: How does being afraid to fail affect us?
Scripture: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it. Of all the fears we must overcome, fear of failure is one of the most common. In the parable of the talents, the third servant hid the money in the ground. Rebuked for his fruitlessness, he pleaded, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man . . . and I was afraid” (Matthew 25:24, 25). Among other things, this man feared failure.
Being afraid to fail can motivate us to work diligently to successfully complete a task. Too often, though, it paralyzes us so that we don’t even try. Someone said, “The one thing worse than a quitter is the person who is afraid to start.” The bottom-rung employee doesn’t apply for the higher position – “What if I can’t do the job?” The awkward lad doesn’t ask the pretty girl for a date – “What if she says ‘no’?”
Fear of failure affects the church, too. Two standard excuses sink every potential program of good work: “We’ve never done that before,” and “We tried that once and it didn’t work.” Aside from laziness and pessimism, both of these excuses betray a fear of failure.
Countless souls reject obedience to the gospel – “What if I can’t live the Christian life?” Members of the body of Christ reject opportunities to serve – “Me, teach a class? Oh, no! Someone might ask a question I can’t answer. Lead a song? Oh, no! I might hit a wrong note or lose my place. Talk to someone about Jesus? Oh, no! I’m afraid I might make him angry!” Just look at the trouble we borrow from the Bank of Doubt! That’s one loan on which we ought to default.
Nobody relishes failure. But let us use our fear of failure to motivate ourselves to work diligently and to do our best. Remember, the greatest mistake you can make is to be constantly afraid of making one.
Song: “To the Work”
Prayer: Father in Heaven, we have so much to do for You! Help us, we pray, to overcome our fear and busy ourselves in obedience to Your word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)