Purpose Study Bible 60: Fear Not Trying

In the last several studies, we have considered the fact that Moses was less than enthusiastic when the Lord ordered him to Egypt during their encounter at the burning bush. His first objection was that he wasn't capable; the second was he didn't have enough information to respond to the people's questions. Let's read about his third excuse in this study. Moses' third excuse was,

"What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you?'" (Exodus 4:1).

Moses was asking, "What if I fail? What if I'm obedient but the people don't respond? What if they don't believe me or accuse me of being a fraud?" Fear of failure is a common stumbling block for people trying to be more purposeful and productive. They can be so afraid of doing the wrong thing that they end up doing nothing, missing potentially significant opportunities.

Are you afraid of failure? Is that what stands between you and any attempt to fulfill your purpose or achieve your goal? As you think of your answer, consider what former American President Theodore Roosevelt had to say about failure:

It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. Who strives valiantly. Who errs, and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who does actually strive to do the deeds. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions. Who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worse, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

If what Roosevelt said is true, then you should fear not trying even if you fail. It is better to fail trying to do something great than to succeed at doing nothing, for the latter isn't really success at all. Don't be reckless but when it involves your purpose or creativity, calculated risks that will benefit many people are where your faith can win the day and change lives.

Are you ready to face your fear of failure? Are you ready to replace it with a fear of not failing? Are you offering God and others the same excuse that Moses offered? Are you asking, "But what if things don't work out?" The way to avoid even answering the last question is never to take action. Stop allowing fear to paralyze you and then act. Be more concerned with the consequences of being purposeless than the consequences of trying and failing.

In the last several studies, we have considered the fact that Moses was less than enthusiastic when the Lord ordered him to Egypt during their encounter at the burning bush. His first objection was that he wasn't capable; the second was he didn't have enough information to respond to the people's questions. Let's read about his third excuse in this study. Moses' third excuse was,

"What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you?'" (Exodus 4:1).

Moses was asking, "What if I fail? What if I'm obedient but the people don't respond? What if they don't believe me or accuse me of being a fraud?" Fear of failure is a common stumbling block for people trying to be more purposeful and productive. They can be so afraid of doing the wrong thing that they end up doing nothing, missing potentially significant opportunities.

Are you afraid of failure? Is that what stands between you and any attempt to fulfill your purpose or achieve your goal? As you think of your answer, consider what former American President Theodore Roosevelt had to say about failure:

It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. Who strives valiantly. Who errs, and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who does actually strive to do the deeds. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions. Who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worse, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

If what Roosevelt said is true, then you should fear not trying even if you fail. It is better to fail trying to do something great than to succeed at doing nothing, for the latter isn't really success at all. Don't be reckless but when it involves your purpose or creativity, calculated risks that will benefit many people are where your faith can win the day and change lives.

Are you ready to face your fear of failure? Are you ready to replace it with a fear of not failing? Are you offering God and others the same excuse that Moses offered? Are you asking, "But what if things don't work out?" The way to avoid even answering the last question is never to take action. Stop allowing fear to paralyze you and then act. Be more concerned with the consequences of being purposeless than the consequences of trying and failing.