A friend of mine recently asked me: “If you worked really hard at something, but despite all of the effort you put into it, you still didn’t get the result you wanted- what would that mean to you?”

The question took me back a little bit. What would it mean to fail after giving everything- your own self even- in the process?

Failure is a scary thing. It brings us discouragement when we have to face reality that we didn’t make the cut. It feeds the dark insecurities that lie deep within us as we admit that we did not succeed this time around. It reopens an abyss within our souls that we try to cover with our accomplishments by forcing us to recognize that we couldn’t reach what we were striving for. Failure tends to have the nasty effect on our minds that focuses our thoughts on the negative in everything.

Despite how hard we work, how hard we attempt to achieve what we perceive to be perfection, failure will happen. It is pretty much guaranteed to happen to everyone.

However, another thing that is guaranteed in this life is the opportunity to grow. Each and everything that we experience in our lives is a chance to decide how we will take the next step forward. These are opportunities to take a chance when we may not understand everything in the moment, but still choose to push forward in faith that what is happening will be the best for us in the end.

Included in this are the disappointments and failures we face. God’s intentions are never for us to stop growing in our lives. While we find it easy to keep on moving forward when things are going ‘right’ and free of bumps in the road, how are supposed to learn without facing opposition in our lives? He created us so that we can grow and become better today than we were yesterday. It is impossible to know how amazing it feels to know that you are striving to improve without know the heartache of stumbling on the path. For us to know incredible joy, we must also feel sadness and pain. Feelings of disappointment when we fail are no exception to that. The love Christ has for us is so perfect and amazing that He wants us to grow in what we face in our lives.

With the failures we experience, we have chances to choose to become better. Know that this is an opportunity to grow and Christ will help you find the way. Look to Him in each step and through your faith, light will overcome darkness, the abyss inside is filled with hope, and you will know of His love for you.