God�s definition of failure: Refusing to try again.
1) You feel like a failure when ___________ happens.
2) ___________ is how you manage it.
3) You believe if ___________ were different, things would be easier.
Your thoughts on failure:
- Get over it!
- Cool! Something I�m good at!
- Been there, done that.
- Other: ___________________
Recall an embarrassing moment you can laugh at today: ______________________
What to do when you fail:
1) Remember everyone fails.
- We all stumble in many ways (James 3:2).
- There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
- It helps to remember everyone fails because:
� I know I�m not alone
� It�s easier to be honest when I blow it
� God surely understands my shortcomings
� It helps ease the pain
� Other: __________________
2) Realize it�s not fatal.
- No matter how often an honest man falls, he always gets up again (Proverbs 24:16).
- We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
- In order to keep from focusing on your failures, you try to:
� Be grateful for what�s going well
� Remember that God is with me� even in failure.
� Ask myself, �What can I learn from this particular failure?�
� Realize that it could have been worse.
� Other: ___________________
3) Recognize the benefits: God uses failure
- To educate you.
� My troubles turned out for all the best� they forced me to learn from God�s decrees (Psalm 119:71).
� A man who refuses to admit his mistake can never be successful (Proverbs 28:13).
- To motivate you.
� Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways (Proverbs 20:30).
� You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised (Hebrews 10:36).
- To cultivate you.
� We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us� they develop strength of character (Romans 5:3-4).
What�s one way you�ve seen God use your failure in a positive way: _______________
4) Relax in God�s grace.
- God canceled our debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14).
- I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, �I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.� Suddenly, the pressure was gone� my guilt dissolved and my sin disappeared (Psalm 32:5).
- Be careful that no one fails to receive God�s grace (Hebrews 12:15).
- What helps you relax in God�s grace?
� The fact that He doesn�t stop loving me when I blow it
� God knows my weaknesses
� God uses people who give their failures to Him
� God still has a good plan for my life
� Other: ___________________
