Fear of Failure

"A humble man is not afraid of failure.  In fact, he is not afraid of anything, even of himself, since perfect humility implies pefect confidence in the power of God before Whom no other power has any meaning and for Whom there is no such thing as an obstacle". - Thomas Merton

I like this quote a lot, for fear of failure is something that I have always struggled with.  If I truly believe that God is in complete control of my life then I should never fear failure for I know that God calls me to do my best for Him in all things as an act of worship to Him (Colossians 3:23) and then to trust Him for the results (Philippians 2:13, Romans 8:28). 

There will be things that God calls me to do, and those things He will always give me the strength, ability, means, etc. to accomplish those tasks successfully.  He calls me to do my part and do my best, trusting in Him for the results.  Anytime God calls me to do something I can know for certain that as long as I do my part, that the task will be successful.  This is further proof of the peace that comes from Christ ruling in your life.

But what about those times where I pursue something where I am not convinced that God is absolutely calling me to do it?  Is it wrong for me to pursue it?  Am I sinning simply by desiring to do something that I have not felt God calling me to do?  These questions are ones which I have struggled with in the past, and the following is what I feel God has been teaching me regarding them.

First off, I do not need to be called by God in order to do something.  If that was the case I would be sitting around most of my life waiting for God to tell me exactly which action He wants me to take next.  The truth is, He has already told me all that He wants me to do.  He wants me to follow the instructions that He has laid out for me in the Bible.  Therefore, as long as I am obeying His Word, then I am within His will.  That means that I will have times in my life where there will be different options for me, all of which are equally righteous, and in those situations I believe that it is fine to choose the path that you would like.  Notice however that I said situations which are equally righteous.  There will be times where we have options which all seem "okay"; however, we need to make sure that we seek God's wisdom for which choice is the wisest choice.

With this said, just because I said we do not need to be called by God, that does not mean we should not be listening for His call.  If He calls us to do something, we need to do it, and immediately, knowing that He is with us and that He will provide us the strength and means to be successful.