Fear Of Failure Before Even Beginning
I grew up with the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. The tradition is that eating black-eyed peas will make you prosperous throughout the coming year. Well, this year my family was on vacation and there were no black-eyed peas to be found. As I began thinking about being prosperous this year, I realized my thinking about prosper and God’s thinking are not in line with each other.
For me to be prosperous, I need to succeed in everything I set out to do. I need to fulfill my new year’s resolution to completion. I need to fully complete the task that is laid out in front of me. If I waver in any way, cheat one day, fail to accomplish my goal, then in my mind I failed completely. I put myself under so much pressure to succeed and prosper.
Psalm 1 gives us a different outlook on our life goals. It starts out sounding like Jesus speaking at His sermon on the mount.
It says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Whatever he does prospers…what does that mean exactly? Does that mean that if we do good, obey God’s law, read our Bibles, pray, and go to church everything will go the way we want? Does it mean we will be financially stable, succeed in our business, be seen as successful and powerful, and most of all be happy? The word prosper in the dictionary means to be successful or fortunate, to thrive or flourish. When we think of being prosperous, we think of being successful.
God does not see our prosperity in worldly success. When He tells us we will be prosperous, He thinks beyond our life goals and wishes. He sees the big picture, our lives regarding His Kingdom. We may not see what we have done as prosperous, but even when we fail, we can be prosperous in God’s economy. Romans 8:28 tells us that God is working all things for our good and His glory. That means that even our failures can be used for good. The prosperity Psalm 1 is referring to is measured in God’s standards, not our own.
So, as you begin this new year with new goals, resolutions, focus words, or projects, remember that even though you may fail in your eyes God has big plans for your accomplishments and your failures. If we plant ourselves this year in His solid foundation, we will grow into something beautiful that no matter what will be used for good. Don’t be discouraged by the world, be encouraged with the work Jesus is doing in your life. Live each day with gratitude for the use God has for your accomplishments and your failures. Commit all things to Him and live in righteousness.
Having this mind-set with my goals this new year brings joy instead of anxiety. I can rest in the truth that God is doing good work in me regardless of how the world measures me. May this truth give you peace this year as you set out to fulfill your resolutions.
Digging Deeper:
Read Psalm 1
What was your New Year’s resolution or focus word?
In the past, have you been disappointed or felt like a failure if you did not succeed in your resolutions?
How can you live in light of the truth that God can use even your failures for your good and His glory?