What’s stopping you?

Psalm 66

Eric lived in the early 1970's. He decided to buy a television set because he loved westerns. He went to the shop and asked for a demonstration. He was impressed, but decided to postpone the purchase—it was a little too expensive. A couple of years later, Eric reconsidered buying a TV, but again decided against it—there weren't enough stations offering enough variety. There was only BBC 1 and ITV in those days.

Later, he considered getting a TV again, but didn't—he had heard that colour television would be available in a couple of years. So he waited. Then he heard that vacuum-tube valves would be replaced by solid-state circuitry. So he waited a little longer. You've probably seen the pattern by now. Finally, Eric's wife, in exasperation, said, "I've waited long enough! Go to the shops today and don't come home without a television."

At last, Eric was going to buy a TV. Just as the salesman was asking, "Cash or Credit?" Eric began telling his story. He said, "You know, I've never owned a telly before. I can't wait to get it home because I love watching Bonanza. The Virginian and The High Chaparral." The salesperson replied, "Ah! I've got bad news for you. All those programmes were dropped years ago." Eric stared at the man in disbelief. "They’ve stopped showing Bonanza?! Forget it. I'm not buying a TV."

Some people spend their lives just like Eric. They know what they want out of life, or at least they've got a pretty good idea, but they just can't bring themselves to do anything about it. I have seen people who are unhappy, and their condition seems terminal—they live unhappily, and they die unhappy—yet they don’t seem able to do anything about it. My questions for them and for you are, "What's holding you back? What's stopping you? Why are you so unwilling to step out and change the things in your life that aren't working?"

Often, the problem is fear, usually a fear of failure or the fear of change or the prospect of having to make an effort to do something is just too much for them. What if things don't work out? What if I buy the telly and it breaks down? What if a better one comes along? A fear of failure, change or simple laziness often holds us back and prevents us from experiencing the kind of fulfilment in life that we would like, and that maybe God wants us to have.

God created us to live life in one direction: forward. Spiritually speaking, we were not made with a neutral or reverse gear. Yet, although God wants the best for us, many people feel there's something holding them back, preventing them from experiencing fulfilment in life.

King David knew what it was like to be held back by fear. He was a king, the King of Judah, but we must remember that he was not born a king. He was born a shepherd. He wasn't groomed to lead a nation like Prince George will be; David was groomed to watch sheep. He was still very young when he found himself facing challenges and problems greater than anyone in his family had ever faced. In the Psalms, we discover that David was at times absolutely paralysed by fear. However, David learned to overcome his fear—and to this day he is known as Israel's greatest leader.

Let me ask you a question. If you could try anything and guarantee the results, what would it be? If failure wasn't a possibility, what would you attempt to do? Would you choose a new career … start your own business … get married … have children … go back to college … buy a house … take dancing lessons … become a missionary…get serious about your relationship with God, attend the Bible Study and Prayer meeting? If you could guarantee results on anything at all, what would it be?

Now let me ask you another question: What is holding you back? Is it the fear of failure? More than anything else, it's the fear of failure that prevents people from realising their full potential.

Well, if you find yourself afraid to move forward in life, I've got good news for you. It doesn't have to be that way. King David had the very same problem, and he overcame his fears. In Psalm 66, he shows us how we can eliminate this fear from our lives.

• The way to overcome the fear of failure is to fail.

The first thing that helps us overcome the fear of failure is failure itself. That's right. The way to overcome the fear of failure is to fail. You see, we grow up thinking that failure is a terrible thing. We think it is something to be ashamed of. We believe we must succeed at everything we do, and avoid failure at all costs—as if failure is some monster that ruins our lives forever.

That's not the way it is. I've had some failures in my life. I won't bore you with the details, but I'll tell you they run the gamut from friendships that went sour to jobs that didn't work out to investments that went belly up to preaching engagements where I fell flat on my face (not literally). These failures taught me a valuable lesson: failure isn't fatal, and neither is failure final.

"Though a righteous man falls seven times, he gets back up" (Proverbs 24:16).

It's not a question of whether we will fail; it's a question of how we respond to failure. Those who fail and give up are all over the place. Those who fail and get up are one in a million.

Without failure, we can't expect to learn. The only way a high jumper can discover his limit is to jump until he misses. That's why Bill Gates of Microsoft once said, "Success is a terrible teacher." Why? Well, when we are succeeding, we tend to focus on things that aren't necessarily essential, but failure has a way of getting our attention, doesn’t it? The way to overcome the fear of failure is to remove its sting. So what if you try something and it doesn't work? You learn a lesson and move on. Failure doesn’t have to hurt you; it can, in fact, help you.

David knew that the setbacks he faced were only temporary. In verses 9-12, he talks about all the disappointments he has faced, yet he realised that failure isn't fatal or final because

"He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping" (Psalm 66:9).

David's attitude was, "I am not afraid of failure because I belong to God."

• Commitment helps us see solutions to the difficulties we face.

A second thing that will help us overcome the fear of failure is commitment. When a married couple take the vow "until death do us part" seriously, they soon make an amazing discovery: every problem can have a solution. If divorce is not an option, any problem can be worked out. It is perhaps our lack of commitment—in marriage or other areas of life—that prevents us from seeing the solutions to the problems we face.

David wasn't afraid to fail as king because he had committed himself to God. His commitment involved going to the temple and offering sacrifices. "I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfil my vows to you" (v. 13). It also involved making an effort to live a good life. "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (v. 18).

If a person wants to live the Christian life, he or she needs to come to church and make an effort to live aright. But we cannot make the mistake of thinking that that is all there is to it. There's more to a relationship with God than just going to church and obeying the rules, and David knew that. In verse 16, he shows us the basis of his spiritual life, "Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me" (v. 16).

Many people think that a relationship with God is one-way. They think being a Christian means that you do things for God: you go to church, you give your money, you obey the Ten Commandments, and so on. But that's not it at all. Our relationship with God isn't solely about what we do for him; it's about what he does for us.

Even though these things are good, we don't get into a right relationship with God by cleaning ourselves up and trying to do better so that he will accept us. We get right with God by letting him clean us up and make us right—and everything we do after that is in response to his love for us. Yes, we should go to church. Yes, we should give. Yes, we should live according to the scriptures, but let's keep it in perspective: serving God is not our obligation, it is our privilege.

It is easier to commit to something when we see it as a privilege rather than an obligation. For example, work is not an obligation; it is a privilege (I have learnt this over the last 30 months of unemployment); your marriage vows are not an obligation to fulfil; they are a privilege; serving God is not an obligation; it is a privilege. When you look at life from God's perspective, it becomes easier to make the commitment.

When you look at life from God's perspective, it is easier to keep the commitment too. When we recognise life as a gift from God, we should realise that we belong to God. David wasn't afraid of failure because he knew he belonged to God. He knew that God would take care of him. Even if David failed, he knew he could trust God. Paul said, "If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13).

• Our faith helps us keep matters in perspective.

The third element that helps us overcome the fear of failure is faith. It's a fact of life that we won't always get the results we want. We can, however, take comfort in knowing that regardless of what happens, God is with us. Having faith in God helps us keep our priorities in line. Faith helps us to remember what the important things in life are, and that they cannot be taken away. What could we possibly lose? Our house? Our car? Our money? Our health? Our life? Maybe so, but no matter what happens, we will never lose our relationship with God because even when this life is over, we begin a new life in His presence forever. That's why Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Matthew 10:28).

Our faith helps us keep matters in perspective. It helps us differentiate between what is real and what isn't. It enables us to recognise what will last forever and what won’t. Failure is no longer a threat because, when it comes to what is really important, we can't fail. This is what David is saying in the last part of Psalm 66, "God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!" (v. 19-20).

These verses show us three things that God will not do.

1. God will not ignore you.

2. God will not reject you and

3. God will not withhold His love from you.

If more people were to make this kind of commitment to you ("I will not ignore you, reject you, withhold from you"), would you fear failure? Of course not. You would feel like you could conquer the world!

God has made this commitment to us, and he will see us through every detail of our lives—even the storms and the rough times—and he will bring us to, as David says in verse 12, "a place of abundance."

Conclusion

Did David win every battle he ever fought? No. Did he always get perfect results? No. But David didn't let the fear of failure hold him back. He knew that, regardless of the outcome, God was with him. He knew he could trust God to take care of him.

David's attitude was, "I'm not afraid of failure because I belong to God." This is the attitude that we need to foster in ourselves. It comes easily to some and not to others, and for others still, it has to be really worked on because of their personality. But failure doesn't have to hurt us, and God is with us every step of the way, so what have we to be afraid of? The fear of failure can be overcome by putting yourself where you belong—in God's hands. Don't let anything hold you back. You belong to God. No matter what happens, he will take care of you even if that care is not as immediate as you would like.