The following is a devotion from my message series 10 Steps to Freedom. I hope these devotionals help you experience lasting freedom in Jesus!
STEP NINE: day 4
Fail forward and keep pressing on
So what does it exactly look like to fail forward? Here’s an easy way to remember the seven components, which line up to spell the word “forward”:
F – Fail. This is the easy part, the part we all can do with confidence. To have to fail forward, you have to start by failing (Romans 7:15-19).
O – Own your failure. A key to failing forward is honestly admitting when you fail, something not easily done. You can’t move past something until you’ve owned it (1 Timothy 1:15).
R – Reach out to someone. This is where most people get stuck. Our shame and guilt from failing (again) tempts us to withdraw into ourselves, but as we learned in step six, freedom only happens together (Acts 9:10-17).
W – Wise up. Just because failure is inevitable doesn’t mean it should be intentional. As we learned in step eight, what are guardrails you can establish to keep from failing again in the same areas (Ephesians 5:15-16)?
A – Ask for forgiveness. When we fail we must always ask for forgiveness, not just from God but from those we’ve sinned against (Colossians 3:13).
R – Receive grace. You may not always receive grace from others but you will always receive grace from God. You cannot forgive yourself until you’ve received and accepted the grace of God (1 Timothy 1:16).
D – Do something different. At the end of the day, what you did to get yourself to a point of failure didn’t work, so try something (anything) different (Ephesians 4:20-24).
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
- Of the seven keys (letters) to failing forward, which one has helped you the most when dealing with failure?
- Of the seven keys (letters) to failing forward, which one has been the most difficult for you? Where is your biggest area of growth and what’s one thing you can do in the next 24 hours to start failing forward?
You can read other devotional entries for 10 Steps to Freedom here.
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