There are going to be times in life when you fail. It is a given. No one is perfect and does everything just right all of the time. Most sensible people will agree to the above statements.

Failure is not fun. I am one that does not like to come up short or lose. I do not like the fact that there are times that I will fail. But they are going to happen.

One thing that I’ve learned from this frequent appearance of failure is that with each failure comes another option: Will you allow the failure to be used as it is intended, or will the failure be wasted?

In the Old Testament, there is an interesting account of failure. It comes in the book of Joshua chapter 9. Joshua was to lead the Israelites in the taking of the Promised Land. Up to this point, Israel had experienced a great deal of success. This all changes in Joshua 9.

In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites devised a plan to deceive the Israelites. The point of failure came when the Israelites decided not to do the single thing that had brought them victory up to this point: inquire what the truth is from the LORD. Because they did not choose to seek the LORD on this action, they were tricked and would experience a thorn in their side for some time to come.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB

It is not fun when you experience failure. There is a temptation to just throw in the towel and give up completely. For some people, they have allowed one failure to define them. They feel that they can never be anything more than a failure, but that could not be further from the truth.

If you look further in the book of Joshua to the end of chapter 11, you will see that Joshua was not going to be one of those persons. Though Joshua experienced a great failure at one point, he did not allow that failure to become his identity. He allowed this failure to point him back to the place that he should be — seeking the LORD and not depending on his own flawed senses.

Just because you may encounter failures in life and drop the ball at times, you do not have to quit. Those failures are to serve as reminders that we don’t have all the answers in ourselves. They are allowed to come into our lives to point us to the One that does — Jesus Christ. Will you waste your failures?