Momentum For Monday, August 8th 2022

“I’m down, but I’m not out.” (Micah 7:8)

I’m keeping with the idea that, “The years will teach you what the days will never know” from last week this month. And there are certain things I’ve learned over the years in my walk with God that I would have loved to had known sooner. One of the biggest lessons I’ve come to understand with maturity is in regard to growth.

I thought (probably foolishly) that after salvation a person wouldn’t fail anymore or only weak or backsliders fail. The problem with that thinking is when I failed (and we all do), I almost didn’t and couldn’t come back from those mistakes. I believed that I was such a terrible person for being human and having flaws/issues. Instead of learning about self-control and transformation through the Holy Spirit, I wallowed in my setback thinking the worst of myself, believing every lie the enemy told me.

Growth doesn’t look linear. It doesn’t start from one point and just increase from there. This can be a real problem if you struggle with perfection (and I did). The fear of failure will have you stuck from every trying to achieve anything or going further with God because knowing that something will not possibly pan out the way you would like, will keep you from ever beginning a journey. Or if you do begin or try something and struggle with perfection, you’ll be so embarrassed from any failure that you’ll blame anything to avoid any feeling of shame. Can I, a person who had to learn the hard way, that it’s such a crock of crap?

I’ve failed a lot over the years. I’ve regretted a lot of things too (never people though- just how I handled them). That being said- I’ve learned a lot, which means I’ve grown a lot because of it.

And may I just remind you, that setbacks or failure looks a lot and even feels a lot like God’s pruning in our lives? I’ve gone through losses that I felt like were personal punishments that were extremely humbling, but I realized God was pruning and cutting things out of my life that weren’t beneficial and fruitful for me (things that were even seemingly holy or godly). However, the pain feels the same regardless of the purpose though.

Try something. Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, give yourself permission to grow, learn, and try new things.

“He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops.”

(John 15:2)