If you learn from your mistakes, why are you so afraid to make one?

Psalm 37:24

Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

Sins or Mistakes?

How many times have we heard a public figure say they made a mistake when it was clearly sin? Far too many times to count I am sure. When a politician gets caught for embezzling funds or a Hollywood actor is found to be committing adultery, they often call it a mistake. But isn’t it really a sin and not a mistake? I make mistakes that are not sins; however, when I sin, it is never a mistake. It is what it is, and I call it sin and not a mistake. If someone tries to cover their sin, they will never prosper, but if they confess it and forsake it, only then will they find mercy (Prov. 28:13). I have learned so much from my many mistakes. In fact, I have learned a lot more from my mistakes than when I did things well. The older I get, the more I am willing to take risks and make mistakes–not sins but mistakes. Some of my greatest mistakes were not of commission but mistakes of omission, when I should have done something and didn’t and it turned out to be a big mistake. What about you? Since you learn from your mistakes, too, why would you be so afraid to make one?

Living With Mistakes

If we really understood that we don’t have to fear our mistakes, then we might be willing to make more of them. I don’t mean that we intentionally set out to make mistakes but to take risks for God that we might regret if we took no risks at all. Great rewards come from great risks, and sometimes these risks produce mistakes, but that’s okay. If they’re mistakes done in genuine sincerity, that’s fine because we can trust God to never forsake us, mistakes and all, because He’ll be there to pick us back up and uphold us in His righteous hand (Isaiah 41:10). We can make honest mistakes and be sincere. We can be sincerely wrong, but if we do hurt someone by mistake, we can confess it, just like our sins, and we’ll get forgiveness (1 John 1:9).

Falling and Getting Back Up

The good thing about God’s love is that His love and mercy never fail (Psalm 136:1-3), and He is never going to forsake us or leave us just because we make mistakes (Heb. 13:5). We can fall seven times in a row, but there is God each and every time ready to pick us back up again (Prov. 24:16). Even when we fall headfirst, God’s going to help us up and dust us off (Psalm 37:24). God won’t condemn us if we’ve received Christ as Savior (Rom. 8:1). Paul never looked back but kept pressing ahead (Phil. 3:14), and that’s what we need to do when we make mistakes. So I close with this question: If you learn from your mistakes, as we all do, why are you so afraid of making one or two…or three?

A Closing Prayer

Great Father God, You know I am but dust, frail and feeble, and will make many mistakes. Please help me take a risk for Your sake and be willing to make an honest mistake or two because I know you are there to pick me back up again, and in the precious name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Amen