Growing Through Failing

“For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:15-25

“If at first you don’t succeed, try again.” That Puritan work ethic is solidly ingrained in the minds of many Americans. When a person becomes a Christian, he naturally tends to integrate this attitude into his walk with Christ. If we fail to conquer certain habits, we keep trying. If we fall short in obeying key Scripture verses, we buckle down and try again.

While perseverance is necessary for the Christian, mere grit and determination alone will not cure our problems. Without a proper understanding of spiritual growth, pursuit of this “work ethic” can lead us into the proverbial “brick wall.”

Admission of failure in the spiritual realm is the first step toward a truly abundant life. Repeated failure from our own efforts is often the prerequisite for coming to the end of ourselves, acknowledging that we can do nothing apart from Christ. “...for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
       
Failure can be the catalyst that leads us from mere trying to trusting. The difference is startling, and understanding the spiritual dynamic can be the key to a consistently satisfying Christian walk.

“...He who began a good work in you will perfect it...” Philippians 1:6