I Can't Do it All

I realized something today... I can't do it all. I always want to be better than everyone around me, even though I've already failed at this. I surround myself with 4.0 students, and I work really hard to be just like them, but I can't. I can't do it all. I can't be in band, keep myself healthy by being in sports, have a social life, be involved, have a job, and get perfect scores on every tests. I just can't do it!

I can't take every honors and advanced class I want to because maybe my brain just isn't at that level yet. And maybe I can't handle the stress either. Because lately, I haven't handled stress that well. I freak out and avoid people when I can.

I can't do it all because I'm only in high school, and I'm supposed to be enjoying it, right? Not just freaking out and stressing about everything. I should be working on bettering myself, and getting depression or high blood pressure from stressing too much isn't making myself any better, {even if I haven't gotten those side effects yet}.

I can't do it all because I know that I'm not spending enough time with God, and that upsets God. He wants me to be in His Word every day and talk to Him on a regular basis, but with so much to do, it becomes easy to push Him aside. And that's not right. I should start with God and work my schedule around Him.

So maybe I can't do it all. Maybe I'm not perfect. Maybe I can't always do what I want. But in the end, is any of this going to matter in heaven? No, and that's why I need to be more focused on God to understand His plan for me.

Fear of Failure

The thing I am most of afraid of is failure. It haunts me. If I make a huge mistake, that mistake will stay with me forever and haunt me in my dreams. I strive to be a great person, and I strive to do my best in everything I do, but sometimes, it doesn't work out. But that's okay! 

We all fail daily. God gave us the 10 Commandments, yet we disobey Him every single day. There isn't a day that goes by where we don't fail at something. We aren't perfect. What's great though, is that Jesus came down from heaven to save us from our sin. To redeem us from our failure. He showered his grace over us. Jesus conquered sin so that we can live with Him in eternity in heaven. 

Proverbs 24:16 - "Even if good people fall seven times, they will get back up. But when trouble strikes the wicked, that's the end of them." (CEV) 

After failing something, we ought to look past it. Dwelling on the past won't get you anywhere. With God by your side, you can look past your failure and learn from it. He is there to protect you and help you. Don't continue to do the wrong thing. Get back up and learn from your mistakes. Acknowledge your failure, then work on improving yourself. Remember, God is just a prayer away to help you out! 

Jeremiah 8:4-5 - "The LORD said: People of Jerusalem, when you stumble and fall, you get back up, and if you take a wrong road, you turn around and go back. So why do you refuse to come back to me? Why do you hold so tightly to your false gods?" (CEV) 

Just because you tried something and failed, doesn't mean you're a failure. God has a plan in store for you and this is just part of His plan. Failure can be a stepping stone toward success. Your failure may have closed a door, but a new one may also be opening. And that could lead you to something even greater!