Tag: #Authentic

Can failure ever be an option?

“Failure is not an option,” is a line from one of my all-time favorite movies, Apollo 13. For this group of scientists at NASA, failure wasn’t an option for them. They needed to get our astronauts home after an explosion on the spacecraft.

No, disrespect to those scientists and the writers of the movie script, but I disagree. Sometimes, failure is the only option.

When we fail, it shows how much we need God. We are human. We will fail. It’s not if, but when the mistakes come. These mistakes could be unintentional, or we could willfully disobey God’s direction.

When my kids fail, it should be a teaching moment.

Hopefully.

At times, I’m the failure in these situations. Just trying to be open with you. I’m angry first and ask for an explanation later.

I tried, really tried, really I did try, staying calm when one of my boys thought it would be a good idea to plug up the sink to see how full he could get it. For what reason you may ask? Well, it was to watch his toys cruise over the edge onto the floor, along with the water.

Water flowed out through the door and down the hallway. Instead of staying calm, I yelled, something incoherent. It was supposed to sound like, “Grab a towel!”

“Which one?” came the response from my now scared youngster. At least I think he was afraid. Either that or he was in awe of the epic mess he created.

My boys, all of them, including my husband, get boastful over the size of the disaster they can produce. I’ve come to realize boys never outgrow this one-upmanship.

I answered in my not so calm voice, “It doesn’t matter. Grab anything absorbent.”

“What does absorbent mean?”

With my eyes closed and the palm of my hand slapped to my forehead, I say in defeat, “Nevermind! I’ll deal with this.”

Instead of using this as a teachable moment to let my kiddo clean up the mess of his creation, I freak out and handle it myself.

Total. Mom. Fail.

I didn’t even have enough patience to tell my kiddo what absorbent meant.

I wonder if God sits in heaven with His palm firmly pressed to His forehead, shaking His head at me saying, “Nevermind. I’ve got this, God. I think you’re failing on the job. I can handle it better.”

Usually, at this the point in my life, water is flowing over the dam I’ve built in my life. The toys aren’t running over the edge of the sink down the hall. Instead, my tears are running over the edges of my eyes and flowing down my cheeks in defeat.

We can’t hide from God. Not our thoughts, emotions or our failures. It’s in these failures when God shows up. He doesn’t only show up; He will take over and steer our lives back in His direction and the direction of our purpose.

In Psalm 51:17 (NLT), it says “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

God knows what will bring us the greatest joy. Sometimes, we can only find this greatest joy thought trial and error, success and failure. God will bring to us what we need and sometimes that’s bringing us to our knees in surrender to His will through failure.

God needs to break our bad habits to put His good habits into us.

God needs to break our bad habits to put His good habits into us. Share on X

Do you hide your failures from God? From others? How do you overcome failures? Share it in the comments below to help and encourage others.

Does authenticity matter when it comes to achieving our dreams? In a short answer, yes. We must know ourselves before we can even hope to achieve our dreams. Being honest and authentic, not only with ourselves, but with those around us, along with prayer considerations with God, are the only way to achieving our dreams.

Without truly knowing what God created us for, hence the prayerful considerations caveat, we won’t be able to define our dreams, let alone achieve them. God places a specific dream in our hearts in order for us to bring more honor and glory to Him. It’s about pointing people to Him without us getting in the way. We have been placed  on the earth for a purpose, but it’s between us and God to figure out what that is.

We can do anything when we have teamed up with God. He wants us to succeed. He is always in our corner, but we won’t know what He wants us to do unless we live authentically, full out with Him and for Him.

Is there a situation where you haven’t been completely honest with yourself and with God?

It’s this situation which is preventing us from being authentic. It allows the enemy a foothold into our life because when we hid something, it creates a division between us and God.

Guess what? God already knows it anyway. We can’t truly hid from God, but we can hide from ourselves. When we hide, it doesn’t allow God to shine His light into our lives. It shows a lack of trust that He can take care of us.

There is nothing God won’t do for us. Nothing! He gave up His one and only Son so we might have an abundant life. In John 10:10 (NKJV) it states, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

We listen to the lies of the enemy and sell ourselves short when we don’t live authentically. To accomplish what God has truly put in our hearts we must grow in authenticity.

There is nothing holding us back from our dreams except limiting beliefs. The enemy doesn’t want us succeeding and will whisper any lie to get us to settle for less than what God has promised us.

I joke with my business coach that I keep going around the same mountain over and over again because the enemy knows where I’m weakest. He knows exactly the right spot to attack when I’m not being authentic with God. This could be with my fear, my anger, my hurt, or my hopes. When I’m completely honest and authentic with God, He can be my defender, my warrior, my refuge and my redeemer. It’s when I hold back from being authentic in my life that problems arise.

Are there areas in your life where you need to grow in authenticity? Share it in the comments below to encourage others.