Have Faith Over the Fear Of Failure
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘<Moses spoke the Word of God to the Israelites,>”Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”’ (Deuteronomy 31:6); ‘(6) Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (7) Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (8) Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (9) Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.’ (1 Peter 5:6-9)
No one likes to fail; we have a fear of failure and often think of the famous quote by NASA’s Apollo 13 Fight Director Gene Krantz, “Failure is not an option“. It is good to have this fear of failure, to a certain degree, as it can push us through endeavors that we don’t want to fail at (like bringing 3 wayward astronauts back to Earth after an explosion in their service module). Sometimes, however, we do fail and have to accept our failures. In the case of Apollo 13, they had to accept one failure (the explosion that would not allow them to land on the moon) in order to prevent a far bigger catastrophe (the potential loss of the 3 astronauts). Fortunately, the Apollo 13 crew made it back safely to Earth and gave Tom Hanks another hit movie to star in.
Failures are an effective learning tool. We learn from our mistakes (at least most of the time); we prepare to avoid those mistakes the next time we are in that situation. The learning or ‘theory’ is a great foundation for our knowledge but to truly learn we need to engage in the ‘practice’ of our knowledge to truly grasp the details. In practicing our knowledge, we find the limitations or the conditions necessary to make our knowledge work – or fail. It is not always the failures that stop us, but the fear of failure that stops us from succeeding.
The fear of failure, taken to the extreme, is not good for us as it can freeze us in our tracks and we won’t attempt to move forward. There are things we should do that we don’t do because of fearing failure. One common item is dentistry; people should go see their dentist but don’t out of fear, until their teeth start hurting and falling out. Regular checkups could avoid or minimize the need for fillings, root canals, or dentures.
Fear will also keep us from stopping when we should, pushing a poor idea to culmination and then having a bigger problem. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred due to the latter; NASA pushed the launch of the seven-member Challenger in January 1986 despite it being colder than the minimum temperature for a safe launch. The fear of ‘losing face’ pushed the ill-fated launch forward, and due to the cold weather O-rings that would normally be flexible became brittle and broke, allowing gas to escape and causing the main tank to explode just after take-off, destroying the shuttle and killing the seven passengers.
Fear is a human emotion, and it is healthy to have fear. The person who does not have fear is a fool, as fear controlled can keep one out of danger, or to avoid harm. It is healthy to fear what things can do, like lawnmowers or a snake; not because of what it is but what it can do. The Bible often speaks of fearing God, but it is not to fear God Himself, but of what He can do should one disobeys Him (individually and corporately). Fear brings respect, and respect brings caution and not recklessness.
However, as in all things fear cannot be irrational to the point of one becomes immovable and incapable of moving forward. Moses, speaking to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 31, is closing in on his death, and needs to assure the Israelites that God will continue to lead them, through Joshua. There was likely great angst as God spoke directly to Moses, would God speak as directly to Joshua? In front of them was the conquest of Canaan; the land that they were told (in a lie) was filled with giants. There was a great unknown about their futures, as the vast majority of them were born and raised in the desert as the Israelites wandered. They would soon have to fend for their own food and water, as they were used to God providing manna and quail to eat.
They faced what the disciples faced in the early church, and what we face today. Peter, in his first Epistle in Chapter 5, tells us to be humble and turn to God when we fear and have anxiety. Fear is often used by Satan to freeze the Christian, but that fear must be controlled through our relationship with Jesus, and why prayer, Scriptures and fellowship are so important as Jesus uses these to direct us and give us that Hope and Future promised in Jeremiah 29:11-13 after we realize our circumstances may not change without Him.
Our circumstances, where our fear may come from, is perhaps self-induced failure as the nation of Judah was in during their Babylonian exile. They failed to obey God and worship Him, so their failure in doing so resulted in their exile. When we fear something, whether rational (the escalation of tensions between the US and Russia) or irrational (Friday the 13th), we must turn that fear over to the Lord in the Faith that He will lead us through that fear and allow us to overcome it and its consequences.
Is it OK to fear? Yes! Is it OK to have it stop you making the right decision? No. Remember that the Lord is with you and He will stay with you and you can walk through the ‘Valley of the Shadow of Death’ with Him as His hand is always upon you.
