How God Uses My Mistakes

Blunders, goofs, hiccups, kinks, bumps in the road. Whatever you call them, I can’t stand them. I don’t like them when others make them, but that is a great opportunity to show grace. What I really can’t stand is when I make them! I’ve gotten better at giving others grace over the years, but grace for me – not so easy.

If you are a Christian or not, but have struggled with your own blunders please read on. If you never make mistakes, stop reading and call me. I want to know what you know!

You see mistakes hurt my pride, my ego and my since of self-worth. Why? Because I spend way too much time measuring myself according to the world’s standards and not by the incredible grace that Christ died on the cross to give us. More than a businessman and even more than a husband and a father (all of which I can fail at regularly), I am a child of God, pure in His sight through the blood of Christ.

As I continue to stumble through this life, here are 4 things that God is showing me through my mistakes:

  1. My Identity – It is in Christ, not what I can accomplish in this world. I am God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). These are truths that last way beyond my everyday blunders.
  2. Grace – The more I struggle in accepting God’s grace over my mistakes, the better I become at giving grace to others and sharing God’s eternal grace with them.
  3. Humility – Taking credit for your mistakes is probably harder than the realization that you made them. Why is it so hard? Probably because my identity keeps wanting to get stuck in what I can accomplish, not what Christ accomplished for me. Taking credit for my mistakes and learning that I need to depend on others is hard, but a lesson I know God is teaching me every time I make a blunder.
  4. Life is a Journey – For Christians it is a journey called sanctification. Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Christ every day. Just like any good project there are two steps forward days and two step back days (if you’ve ever fallen off the diet and exercise wagon you know what I mean). But a two step back day is not a failure, if you get up the next day, dust yourself off and reset your eyes on Christ. His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I am working hard every day to make fewer and fewer mistakes. I believe in processes and continuous improvement, but mistakes happen. Instead of asking why ask what is God trying to show me or teach me in this situation. And always remember that all things happen for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28).

Thank you for being a part of our values driven community!

Image courtesy of http://optimisticjourney.com/2011/12/28/gods-grace-is-sufficient/

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