Do you struggle with the fear of failure? Does it prevent you from moving forward? Today we’ll talk about this and something to remember for next time the fear of failure steals your ability to press on.

If I had to name my greatest struggle in life, it would be the fear of not measuring up.

As a young girl, I was certain that I was dumb and that everyone around me knew it—they were just too nice to tell me. Always, always I would feel a little better until something else happened to confirm what I already “knew” about myself.

All my failures would circle round my mind, and one time I distinctly remember I was sitting on the school bus as it brought me home over dusty dirt roads in its roundabout way. Normally I read a book while all my fellow students caused their ruckus, but that day I couldn’t focus on a different world. It almost felt like I could fix them by my sheer will and angst in being able to go back and do it better. Or not doing it at all.

As I’m sure you can guess and as much I wanted, I didn’t turn back time that day.

And I continued to fail.

But I also began to see God’s love for me in so many small ways.

Adulthood, and God’s faithful love and care, has slowly led me to realize the fallacy in the argument of my young mind. But the ghost still haunts me sometimes.

Remember This One Thing

I’ve messed up so many times in my life. Over and over I’ve said or done the wrong thing or not said or done what I should have.

All those mistakes convinced me that I was flawed somehow. Why couldn’t I just do it right?

And as flawed as I’ve known I am, subconsciously, I’ve pressured myself to not mess up.

But that’s not possible.

We all mess up. We’re not enough. That’s why Jesus died for us. Because we messed everything up and couldn’t fix it on our own.

It may seem counterintuitive, but reminding myself of this fact has helped me.

Because I’m not done messing up.

As long as we’re still alive, we have a God-given purpose. We’re not going to do it perfectly, but God can use whatever we do for good. Our job is to keep showing up.

Keep going. Even imperfectly.

And remember that God loves to use the imperfect to accomplish His will—His glory shines brightest through our weakness.

Have you had times when you were too hard on yourself for making mistakes? What helps you handle those times? Share in the comments below.

More reading

• Simple as That: What to Remember About Purpose as a Christian from HISsparrowBlog
• My Story: Finding Eternal Assurance from HISsparrowBlog
• Feel Like a Failure: 3 Reminders of Encouragement from HISsparrowBlog

I frequently link up with the following: Grace & Truth with Embracing the Unexpected, Tell His Story with Jeanne Takenaka, and Let’s Have Coffee with Joanne Viola.