It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena … who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. – Theodore Roosevelt.
Anytime I read a book, or listen to someone of success (especially that of great success) the core of their message is overcoming the fear. You will never know what you could do or be until you decide to not let the fear of failure rule you. You will never know the taste of victory until you get over the possibility of defeat.
There is absolutely a balance of living with wisdom, and trusting God to help you take risks in life. However, Jesus does challenge us to be willing to step out of the box, take risks and realize we will never have all God wants for us if we do not overcome the fear of failing. While the fear of failure may come partly from being afraid of not having what you need, I found that my “fear of failure” was mostly due to being afraid of what others would think of me if I lost my home, or simply was not successful. What I came to realize is that I cared more about what God thought of me, and that was doing all I could to do what I felt Him leading me too, than I cared about others.
“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant.” Revelation 3:14
Most all of us know the Parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The two servants who used the talents the master had given them to bring increase. But then there was the one. The one who was afraid of failure, afraid of what the master would think. By not stepping out he hurt himself more than if he had lost everything.
The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent. “The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. “Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’
Matthew 25:24-30 The Message
In the last year or two I have had many moments of seeking God and saying “Lord, are we being faithful or foolish?”. As many friends close to me can attest to. We have not always known where God was taking us, but we knew God had more for us that the status quo. Many times we could have walked away from what God has put in us and easily found safety and security, very tempting when we have faced losing everything and thinking “God why would you let us go through this if this is your will?”. Yet, in the end our hearts would ache at the thought of giving up. In asking God the question, yet again, am I being faithful or foolish, I read a passage from Joyce Meyers in her book “I Dare You”, I realized God is taking us through the same experience.
“For six years we needed financial miracles almost every month just to be able to pay our bills. New clothes, car repairs, entertainment, and other stuff were extras we only had when God supernaturally provided. I am glad to say He always made provision, but I would not have considered myself prosperous. We never had anything over and above our basic needs, and I will admit it confused me because I felt we were giving more than ever and yet our finances were not as abundant as they were before I obeyed God and quit my job. Have you ever obeyed God expecting to be blessed and yet it looked as if you went backward instead of forward? Those times are testing times for sure.”
We have not lost a thing, by the way, though we faced it many times. Even in the “looming face” of recession and foreclosures here in America, God has provided every need. We have always been provided for, and taken care of and always in a way that we could not have accomplished on our own.
Know that God will never stop pulling you away from your comfort zone, no good parent let’s their child crawl forever. And if you are going through a time of believing for miracles, especially if because of obedience to Him, that He will come through for you too!