Power

In 1965, a scientist named Martin Seligman began performing experiments on dogs. He would ring a bell and then shock the dogs with electricity. Once they were conditioned to associate the bell with the pain of the shock, they were put into a box divided in half with a small fence. The scientists would ring the bell, and instead of jumping over the fence to get away from the expected shock, the dog would freeze. The dog could have just jumped over the fence, but he laid down and accepted what was happening to him. The scientist who performed this experiment, Martin Seligman, called this learned helplessness, and he theorized that this effect extended over to human activity as well.

Failure has become a normal thing in my life. I get a bad grade on a test, say the wrong things, embarrass myself over and over, and miss huge opportunities. Some days, I am crushed by the weight of all of my failures. I do have successes, but it is hard to overlook the glaring mistakes. Sometimes I see no way out and just give up, like the dogs in the experiment. It is so easy to fall into this cycle of victimization. A mentality of, “Poor me, look at all my problems…”. I have learned that I don’t have to do everything myself. I don’t have to just relay on my own power. God is always going to be by my side. He is an almighty God and yet he takes the time to listen to the groans of my heart. That is an amazingly wonderful thing to have! Prayer is so powerful, and yet I forget to use it.

Another important thing to remember is that he has already conquered the things of this world! Our eyes shouldn’t be so fixed on the temporary that we forget about the eternal. Francis Chan said, “our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things that don’t really matter.” Throughout all of the failure that we face daily, it is so important to remember that the things of this world don’t matter as much in the long run. It is important to succeed, but we shouldn’t fixate on our successes and failures so much that they become an idol that pulls our focus away from God and towards the temporary.

We must continue to walk in him daily and put our hope in him and not our own abilities, because we will be disappointed by our faults, but he is perfect in every way.