Quiet Time Notes

Notes from my daily Quiet Times with God

Fear of Failure - Relying on God Never Fails

February 20th, 2012
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by Jeremy Clark, San Francisco Church of Christ

Jeremiah 17:5-10; Hosea 10:12-13

Often the failures in my life have felt devastating. They have made me doubt myself, made me doubt my purpose and made me doubt God. When I began to lead a ministry, I thought I could do it by myself. I was out to prove to myself that I was capable. As I began to lead I ran around all the time, I was exhausted, anxious, and worried about getting in trouble every day. I was miserable. What I didn't realize was that as I was trying to prove that I could do it, God was proving to me that I couldn't without him. My failure made me want to quit. I felt cursed; it seemed all the the work I did meant nothing. God was showing me my pride, but instead of praying more, I worried more and ran around more and was completely ineffective. My failure came because of my pride, my unwillingness to be open, and not getting the help I needed. I was relying on myself, and God was teaching me that he would not bless it. That lesson was hard to learn, but one so valuable to my life once I was willing to learn to rely on God and not my own strength.

• Pray about everything before you do it: pray about decisions, hopes and plans. God will bless it.
• Get advice about the plans you are making.
• Relax and enjoy your relationship with God, enjoy reaching out to people, enjoy your purpose.
  
• Don't try to prove anything to anyone, except that you love being a Christian.

Key Phrase: Pray about everything before you do it