Whether it’s an upcoming presentation, a job interview, an exam or something else, the fear of failure can be huge for us. It’s the most common fear of all, and it keeps us from fulfilling any vision God may give us. But if we think about it, the consequences of failing aren’t usually as big as we think they are. Our mistakes are survivable, they’re teaching tools that sharpen and make us better people. We all want to be perfect, but the fact is we’re all flawed. We all make mistakes. And we’ll all fail at some point in our lives. If we let the fear of failure stop us from stepping out and taking a risk, we may miss the things that God has for us. And it’s important to remember that failing doesn’t make us a failure, quitting does; not learning from it does; refusing to get back up when we fall does. Making mistakes is a great way to grow and learn. If we never take the risk, then we prevent growth. And if we do fail and refuse to try again, then we’ll never learn from it. The Bible says: ‘For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline’ (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV). We don’t need to be timid, but using the gifts God’s given us, we need to step out and take a risk based on faith, trusting Him for success. We may still feel fear. Those thoughts of ‘what if I fail?’ may still come up. But when they do, we can hand them over to God. He gives us peace when fear rises up in us. ‘When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy’ (Psalm 94:19 NIV).

What Now?

Is there something you’ve been avoiding because you’re afraid of failing? Take a step towards having a go at it today.