Fail Forward

If God is for you, who can be against you? 

– Romans 8:31

Most motivational speakers think of ways to inspire a crowd to reach new heights, achieve their goals, or strive to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. Success is the driving force that causes us to get up early, work long hours, and go to bed late.  Success is what fuels the fire in our bellies.  Success is the ultimate bulls-eye.  Right?

What if I told you that one of the best motivational speakers I’ve heard lately, Ryan Leak, told me not to aspire to success, but instead challenged me to “chase failure?” At first I thought he had lost his mind, but by the end of his talk, I was clapping and cheering.  Later, while watching his documentary, I was brought to tears.

Success may be what our culture craves, but God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are much higher than ours. Success is playing it safe and following the crowd.  Chasing failure takes courage, audacity, and real perseverance.  Ask yourself:

• What would you do if you knew failure would lead you to God’s purpose for your life?

• How would you spend today failing so you could be hitting God’s bulls-eye tomorrow?

It’s reported that Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before completing the light bulb.  Henry Ford failed, and went bankrupt, five times before the Model T.  Mother Teresa failed to raise enough funds for her first hospital, so she begged on the streets of Calcutta for more money.  The list of successful failures goes on and on.

The Bible also highlights many who failed miserably.  Peter denied knowing Jesus three times and failed his best friend and Savior.  God still called Peter to build His church.  Over 3,000 people believed in Jesus’ saving grace during Peter’s first sermon.  The woman at the well had five failed marriages and Jesus still used her voice to spread the news throughout her village that He was indeed the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah.  

Many ordinary people have become world changers and have left a legacy we honor today by failing and still moving forward.  That’s what God calls us to do.  Fail forward.  Yes, it will be humbling.  Yes, you will have times of frustration, embarrassment, and even self-doubt, but God promises that He is for you. (Romans 8:31).  And if God is for you, then no failure can stop you.  Press on and fail forward, into the future God has planned for you.  

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