Perhaps my favorite section in C.S. Lewis’s second-written Chronicle of Narnia, Prince Caspian, happens when young Lucy enco
unters Aslan one night in the forest. She had seen the Great Lion the day before, but since no one else could see him, nor would believe her that he wanted them to follow him a different way, she had sadly turned away and gone along with her siblings and Trumpkin the Dwarf.
The sweetness of Lucy and Aslan’s reunion in the forest, when she throws herself into his arms—er, paws—and buries her face in the golden glory of his mane, sticks vivid in my mind. But so does the conversation they have, in which Aslan gently challenges Lucy as to why she didn’t follow him on her own, even if the others wouldn’t believe. Much time was lost and danger endured because she hadn’t.
Lucy messed up.
Right now I feel rather surrounded by situations where I’m afraid of messing up—potential opportunities to share Jesus with people, delicate relational circumstances where a false step feels like a huge deal. I’ve also talked lately with friends about the awesome “someday” prospect of parenting and how daunting such responsibility would feel. So many ways to mess up.
And the truth is—we do mess up. No matter how hard we are trying to do right and seek wisdom from the Lord and follow Him, it seems unavoidable to not blow it, at least once in a while, as humans in this fallen world.
That’s scary to me.
Then I thought of the Bible, and the people God chose and loved and used. Jacob . . . Moses . . . David . . . Peter. They majorly messed up. And yet, God didn’t let them mess His plan up. Though consequences for sin still came, He worked good over and through all their mistakes.
Jacob’s lies didn’t stop God’s working through his family. Moses’s foolish boasting cost him dearly, but didn’t cancel out the Promised Land. David’s adultery had harsh consequences, but didn’t stop the line of Christ. Peter’s denial didn’t prevent Jesus’ rising from the dead.
And Lucy’s failure to obey didn’t stop Aslan’s plan in Prince Caspian, either. As he tells her in that moonlit forest glade, we can’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t messed up, but we can find out what will happen . . . when we are willing to put our hand in His, say “yes” to Him, and follow Him now.
Because . . .
“. . . He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~ II Corinthians 12:9-10
Is it just me, or do you struggle with fear of “messing up”? What has the Lord taught you about how His power is perfected in our weakness? Please comment and share . . . I’d love to hear your thoughts!
P.S.: My dear friend and critique partner Sandra Barnes also decided to blog on this topic this week, from a bit different angle. Check out her post here and read all the things in life she would have missed out on–if she hadn’t learned not to fear messing up!
Kiersti, you care so much about other people that you don’t want to offend them. While others like myself have messed up many times because we didn’t consider others’ feelings. I believe that your care and compassion is good and shows you unselfishness. But sometimes, despite our best intentions, things don’t go as we planned. We’re not perfect, and the older we get, the more we’ll mess up – just the law of averages. But trying not to and asking God’s guidance to do the right thing guarantees we’ll mess up less. Your heart is in the right place, and that, my friend, is what the Lord will bless. Thank you for being so open and sharing with others about your humanness.
Thanks so much, Marilyn. You’re right…I guess what scares me is when we try so hard to do things right and still end up messing up. But that’s where God’s grace and sovereignty and redemption come in, I guess. Thank you for being open and sharing too!
You are definitely not the only one who fears the mistakes that we might/will make. There have been plenty of times where I try and as far as I can see, I have failed horribly but even through that failure, the Lord has worked His wonders. I have heard of some cases where people have thought they have failed but in reality, they were just planting a seed and the true fruit of their “failed” attempts were not seen until much later with additional help from others down the line. When I have failed, I have seen the Lord teach me more about Himself, myself, and trust. In my weakness I find I am often the most apt to listen. Those are some things that I have learned. Great article and wonderfully written.
Wow, thanks so much for sharing, Anthony. Your words are a real encouragement right now. Thank you!
Hi Kierst!
I know about the fear of messing up because I’ve lived with it a great deal of my life. Sometimes you’ve gotta stand flat-footed and stare fear straight in the face, daring it to cross the line. You know what happens? It shrinks back.
You probably won’t remember this, but when we were in our first writing class together, I said, “If not for the grace of God, I’m a total mess-up.” That statement is still true for me. Thing is, I should’ve added, “I’m not nearly as hindered by the fear of messing up as I used to be.”
I believe that when we walk in Christ, there is no failure, because He cannot fail. What looks like mistakes are simply guideposts that redirect us. As Anthony said, we learn more about God, ourselves, and trusting Him. And since I love learning, I sometimes welcome mistakes—especially the ones that happen early along the journey. That way, I can quickly gain wisdom and continue toward my destination. Thanks for giving me something to ponder and blog about!
And thanks so much for sharing, Sandra. I love the, “when we walk in Christ, there is no failure, because He cannot fail.” What a comforting reminder.
[…] message entitled “But What if I Mess up?” was written by Kiersti Plog (https://kierstigiron.com/but-what-if-i-mess-it-up/) It actually prompted me to blog about the fear of messing […]
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