I’ve got an impressive resume of failure. It’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s true. At one time or another I’ve failed in every area of my life. Seriously. I’ve broken things I hoped to fix, dropped things I hoped to carry, and hurt people I hoped to help. I’ve had failure slam dunk some of my best ideas and trash my best efforts. I vigorously avoid failure because it hurts.

But should I? Is failure something to run from? I’m sure the enemies of Jesus believed death would spell his failure. Yet Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:25).

While Jesus spoke of his death and resurrection, he articulated a principle of life that his death and resurrection validated. And it’s a principle that may bear on your current situation. Here it is:

Failure is the seed of success.

Once you embrace that reality you’ll find it a source of courage.

Does this mean we should seek failure? Of course not! It means we don’t need to fear failure because it can’t defeat us.

Once we embrace the truth that failure is the seed of success, we transcend failure. Why? Because instead of making decisions that keep us from losing, we make decisions that advance our cause. And when we fail, the lessons learned will help us succeed later on.

As much as I hate losing, I realize God has ordered the universe in such a way that losing is the seed of success. Grasp that truth and instead of fearing you’ll strike out when you step to the plate, you’ll concentrate on staying true to form and making contact with the ball. If you do, you’ll get your share of base hits as well as a few home runs.