I do not have that [perfect] life yet. But I do one thing. I forget everything that is behind me and look forward to that which is ahead of me. My eyes are on the crown. I want to win the race and get the crown of God’s call from heaven through Christ Jesus. All of us who are full-grown Christians should think this way. Philippians 3:13-15

 

What do you do when you realize you’ve failed in a big way?

On an internationally popular baking show, during the competition between home cooks, contestants sometimes manage to prepare truly terrible creations. Runny ice cream, raw cakes, and biscuits or cookies hard as rocks have all been served up and critiqued. But only once was a contestant disqualified, and it wasn’t for producing a flop. The competitor was disqualified for throwing his creation away and quitting on the spot. The frustrated baker refused to try a second longer.

Just as the baking show judges didn’t define failure by the frustrated baker’s mistakes, so God doesn’t ask for perfection from us. One of Jesus’s followers wrote in the Bible book of Philippians, “I do not have that [perfect] life yet. But I do one thing. I forget everything that is behind me and look forward to that which is ahead of me. My eyes are on the crown. I want to win the race and get the crown of God’s call from heaven through Christ Jesus. All of us who are full-grown Christians should think this way” (Philippians 3:13-15).

Do you need to redefine failure just as that baker did? It’s easy to feel like quitting when we’re fixated on our foolish mistakes. In these moments, we might feel overwhelmed by a sense of shame or anger at ourselves. But God encourages us to bring Him our mistakes, get up and keep trying. Then, putting the past in the past, we keep gazing at Him.

We’re not guaranteed perfection today or even tomorrow. We will make many flops along the way. But a willingness to learn and keep on with God’s help, brings hope and growth. The only way to fail is to quit.