1. Failure is being unsuccessful at something
2. Failure DOES NOT define you.
3. Failure is how we learn (for example, a baby continues to try and walk no matter how many times they fall down until they succeed. They don't usually say, "I quit! Walking isn't for me.")
4. Failure many times is not a life or death situation (it can be, but not in a usual circumstance)

Psalm 37:23-24 NIV
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

5. God is there, even when we fail.
6. How many times have we said, "Aw man, I am such a failure."? How often do we do this to ourselves?
7. We need to know our identity in Christ -- that we are forgiven even in our failures and this gives us the strength and the hope to press on.

1 John 1:9 NIV
But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

8. Failure DOES NOT mean we are useless.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.


Even people in the Bible failed:

-David killed Uriah after committing adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)
-Job probably felt like a failure with his wife and friends speaking against him (book of Job)
-Paul, who used to be Saul of Tarsus, approved murder of Stephen in Acts 7:57 - 8:1 and he used to strive to destroy the church and throw Christians in prison.
-Peter denied Christ 3 times (Luke 22:54-62)

9. Failure DOESN'T DISQUALIFY YOU!
10. Failure only makes you HUMAN!
11. Failure does not discriminate, it happens to everyone.

**Discussion**

-When was a time you really failed or felt like a failure?
-How did God help you move forward/How is he currently helping you move forward?


-In my personal experience, there have definitely been times I've felt like an absolute failure. It's easy to let failure consume us and keep us from stepping forward and learning from our mistakes.

One such time was when this past year, my health failed me. It was definitely hard to do every day activities - I felt like a failure...completely useless. The dishes and laundry were pilings up; I wasn't able to get anything done. All I could do is try to get better so I could get back to what I needed to get done.

Time moved forward, and I got quite a bit better, and able to get more things done each day and I feel like less of a failure, but it's easy to look back and do a facepalm as if I somehow could've stopped it all before I knew what would happen.

I know that God is there and He will help me persevere and letting go of the failure I felt and moving forward is also useful when I'm able to do so.