Afraid to Fail? Five Ways to Get Over It and Move Forward

Reading Time 3 mins 51 secs –

When was the last time you failed at something? Was it something small or something big?

Was it fun?

Of course, it wasn’t. Failure is never fun.

Here’s the thing: it’s not just a cliché to say you can always learn from failure. It’s true.

In fact, having a proper understanding of failure is vital to your success.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the Honda Corporation. Honda has a proper understanding of failure. I read that their engineers spend 95% of their time studying their failures—why the lawn mower wouldn’t start the first time or why the gas mileage is higher on their new car model than on the old one.

Why? Because they know that their success lies in those failures.

You have to look at failures the same way.

We’re all going to make mistakes. Most of us come into God’s Kingdom, and we don’t know how to live life, so we fail. And the enemy loves to pervert our failures. He wants us to hesitate in moving forward, so he tries to get us to rehearse our failures over and over again, or he paints a vivid picture of the risks. He tells us that our failures are permanent.

And, all too often, we believe him.

Then, we stop. We don’t move forward because we’re afraid we’ll fail again.

Or the enemy has another tactic—blaming the failure on God. That’s one of his favorites.

Why? Because it makes us question God.

The enemy used this tactic on Joshua. In Joshua 1, Moses died and God put Joshua in charge. Joshua led the people to Jericho, and the walls came down. Things were working just like God had said… until chapter 7.

That’s where failure happened. There was a guy named Achan in chapter 7. Achan had stolen some of the spoils from battle, and Joshua had no clue. Unaware of Achan’s failure to follow God’s instructions, Joshua sent men on to the next battle at Ai only to see his men killed.

Everyone has a chapter 7.

We’ve all had those moments when we begin to follow Christ, and something happens that doesn’t match the picture, or the promise, in the Bible or what we know God has said. And if we don’t understand how to deal with failure, those moments may make us lose our courage. We might hesitate, or we might set up camp and never try again, or we might just try to run back to Egypt.

So, we have to understand failure and how to deal with it.

Joshua had to learn. At first, like we all do, Joshua reacted. The enemy’s plan to have him blame God worked. Joshua questioned God.

Ever done that before? Ever blamed God or questioned Him? We all have.

But God wasn’t having it. He told Joshua to GET UP!

See, people say that they wish Jesus would just show up. Trust me, you DON’T want that. Jesus isn’t going to show up and say, “Let’s have a group hug.”

When the disciples freaked out that they were going to drown in the storm at sea, Jesus didn’t get up and coddle and comfort them. No, Jesus said, “Where is your faith?”

In the same way, He’s probably not going to baby you if you experience failure. He’s going to say, “GET UP! Have you not read MY WORD? I already paid the price!” He will correct you.

That’s exactly what God did to Joshua. He told him to get up. Then, He told Joshua exactly what had happened. See, the failure wasn’t just on Achan’s part. It was also on Joshua’s. Joshua hadn’t sought instruction from God before he engaged Ai. If he had, God could have told him about Achan before they went to battle. Instead, Joshua just assumed.

You can NEVER assume things in the Kingdom. You can’t do anything based on your past victories. The enemy is already wise to them, and he’s already changed strategies.

You don’t have to fail. If you go to God first, failure doesn’t have to happen.

But even if you do fail, there are steps you can take to overcome the failure and move forward:

1. Ask God what happened.

If the Word says it, it’s God’s will. There are a lot of variables—things like unbelief and wrong expectations—that mess with the heart and can short-circuit faith. If it didn’t happen, you need to ask God why.

2. Pinpoint the short circuit.

Know who, what, why, when, where, and how so it doesn’t happen again.

3. Ask God how to fix it.

4. Get the plan from Him on how to restore the loss.

5. GET UP and take action.

Sure, you’ll probably feel afraid. Ignore your feelings. God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous. You will have to be too. You can feel afraid, but don’t act like it.

Remember, if you’re not doing the hardest thing in your life, you’re not growing.

God has already prepared a way for you to go and succeed in a big way. Be confident and let the Holy Spirit teach you, train you, and reveal unique strategies to you. Keep your vision in front of your face. Write it down! Believe it’s possible; otherwise, you’re destined to stay right where you are.

God wants to advance His Kingdom in the earth through you. He’s depending on you to overcome failure and take territory for Him.

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5 Steps to Release the Kingdom in Your Life

By Gary Keesee • 10 Apr, 2024

Reading Time 2 mins 13 secs – In John 6, we read the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Do you know it? It’s where we see Jesus teaching the disciples how to release the Kingdom of God into the earth realm. Basically, a large crowd was following Jesus, listening to Him teach, and watching Him perform miracles. It got to a point where the people needed to eat, and Jesus asked the disciples what they planned to feed the people. Of course, Jesus knew the disciples would freak out. They couldn’t feed 5,000 people. In fact, they started talking about how it would take more than half a year’s wages to buy just a bite for that many people. Jesus was teaching the disciples, and He was teaching us— the Kingdom of God has all the answers you need . How can you release the Kingdom of God into your life? Here are the five steps Jesus took. 1. Look at what you have. Jesus asked the disciples what they had to feed the people. What do you have in your life that you can give God to work with? Jesus multiplied bread into bread and fish into fish. What do you need multiplied in your life? Find some of it. That’s your seed. Also, remember that money can be named. You don’t sow money to believe for more paper or digital money. Money represents your life and can be named to be the thing you need multiplied. 2. Make sure you’re in faith. “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, GNT). You have to know how to judge whether or not you’re in faith. How? Do you have the right picture? When you close your eyes, what do you see? Do you see yourself with the thing you’re believing for? Can you defend your position? Why do you believe it? Prove it! Because you can be sure that between the “Amen” and the “There it is!” the enemy is going to contend for it, so you better be able to defend it. Do you have joy, expectancy, and peace? Are you in agreement with your spouse? 3. Confess over what you have, and release it in faith. Be specific. Say exactly what you’re believing for and release the seed to God. 4. Get the plan from God. Be ready for new direction, new ideas, and new concepts by revelation from the Holy Spirit. Carry a notepad and a pen. Write everything down. 5. Act quickly! When God gives you the plan, MOVE! It’s wise to have counselors and get wisdom, but you need to act swiftly on any direction you receive from the Holy Spirit.

Want Growth and Success? Here Are 10 Steps to Help Take You There

By Gary Keesee • 13 Mar, 2024

Reading Time 2 mins 34 secs – How can you make sure you’re equipped for the growth coming your way this year? Here are my 10 steps to posture yourself for opportunity and success. 1. Ask yourself how you’re handling your current responsibilities. Don’t run from your responsibilities. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you should be a success. People will still see the evidence of God even if you think you’re in the wrong spot. 2. Detox your life of the things that keep you from having time to think. We live in a fast-paced world. There are plenty of things that can keep you distracted. But it’s in the moments that you stop to think that you’ll find ways to solve problems, and that’s where the opportunities are. So figure out what is consuming your time. Start saying no to some things. Find time to think. 3. Don’t hang around people who are always losing. I know people hit rough spots, but if the people in your life are chronically losing, it’s time to expand your circle. Hang around people who are better than you are, who don’t see things as impossible, and who have vision. It may be uncomfortable for you, but their influence will cause you to think differently. 4. Write down EVERY idea that you have, no matter how strange it seems. Most people filter opportunities and ideas through what they perceive their ability to be. This means most people discard ideas by the dozens because they don’t think they can do them. But God isn’t limited to what you know how to do. The ideas He gives you might seem so weird to you that you can’t process them fully. Write them down so you have time to think about them. 5. Research. Research. Repeat. You don’t need to know how to do something; you need to know how to learn how to do it. Research until you find what you’re looking for. 6. Count the cost before you jump. A lot of Christians hear God and jump out too soon, resulting in catastrophe. There are seasons for everything. God will prepare you for where He wants you to go. Be patient. 7. Always be in agreement with your spouse. Never, ever march out into battle without your spouse being in total agreement and your faith aligned. 8. Ask God for direction. Ask Him to help you, to show you where to go, and what to do. And always remember that prophecy from other people shouldn’t lead you; it should only confirm what God has already said to you. 9. Commit to never quit. Quitting is not an option. Once you’ve moved, don’t move again until God speaks to you. Stay with it. Walk it out. Don’t quit. So many people have so much potential, but they get uncomfortable and they quit. If you want to win, you should always be stretching. 10. Get ready to embrace bigger things. Your ability to see the big picture will keep growing as you change and grow on the inside. You’ll pick up on even more opportunities. For more principles, check out this FREE video on success.

The Consequences of Strife: Why You Should Never Allow It in Your Life

By Drenda Keesee • 14 Feb, 2024

Reading Time 2 mins 59 secs – A stuffed toy laid in the road at the scene of the accident. As we passed, the Lord spoke to me, “ Okay, this is your last warning. Are you going to continue this? You know you are opening the door to the enemy.” Gary and I had had a disagreement just before we had left the house for our family road trip. And there we were six hours in and we’d barely said a word to one another. Six hours. You think driving from Ohio to Tennessee is a long stretch of highway? Try doing it while giving someone the silent treatment. One word: torture. Then we passed the accident. Gary and I both felt the same conviction when we passed it, especially because it clearly involved children. But... pride. We knew what we were doing wasn’t good. (What kind of example is it to your children to ignore each other?) But neither of us wanted to lay down our pride. I kept hearing the voice of the Lord, and I’d think, No, I’m not going to fix this thing, because then I’ll have to talk to him. It was almost a competition to see who could hold our grudge for the longest. But strife is dangerous stuff. What is strife? Drama, conflict, friction, disagreement, bickering, arguing, bad blood, disputes… whichever words you use to describe it, it’s dangerous. Whether it’s between you and your spouse, you and your child, you and a friend, you and a family member, or you and a coworker, you don’t want to let strife remain in your life. The Bible says that where there is strife, there is confusion and there is every evil work (James 3:16). Our small argument between Gary and I had gone unchecked and had escalated, and neither one of us were listening to the voice of the Lord. And there were consequences for our strife and outright disobedience. About an hour after we passed the accident, a car pulled out in front of our vehicle, and we were in what could have been a very serious car accident. I started yelling the name of Jesus, and God supernaturally protected our entire family. Initially, it looked as though there were going to be serious issues. They told us our son’s spleen might rupture. I was pregnant, and the doctors worried that I might lose the baby. Through all of these things, we stood on the Word of God, and we all came out unharmed, including the young preacher’s son who had pulled out in front of us (he was in disobedience at that moment too). Even in the midst of this difficult situation, through our prayers, standing on God’s Word, and our children’s words to the medical personnel, we had opportunities to minister and impact the little county hospital we had to visit. The enemy tried to take us out, but he lost. We were responsible for opening the door to the enemy. But the name of Jesus is more powerful than our mistakes and circumstances, and that is what kept us protected. You MUST stay on guard and not allow strife in your life, with anyone. How? Here are just three quick tips: Bite your tongue. You don’t have to say everything you think. Don’t lash out or give the silent treatment. Work on communicating with others in a healthy way. Repent quickly and forgive quickly. Take responsibility; admit when you’re wrong. Say you’re sorry and ask for forgiveness. Don’t hold onto hurts. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven by Jesus.