Social media is full of inspirational positive quotes to inspire self-improvement and persistence. They've become so standard it's easy to agree with the message and go on without even thinking about it.
Quotes like:
Take a deep breath, Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again. ~ Frank Sinatra
Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.
Your life only gets better when you do. Work on yourself and the rest will follow.
Failure doesn't come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting up.
There are many more, usually printed on a pretty picture or eye-catching design, but I think you get the idea. I've realized that these seemingly positive memes and quotes are dangerous to me. They are subtle invitation to exit my road onto another where the bridge is out in a few miles. But they sound good! Surely I am over reacting? Aren't I just being picky? Yes, I am being picky. There is a map that shows me how to get where I want and need to go, and which roads don't get there. I don't want to waste time on my journey, or worse wind up lost, so I need to pay close attention to the map and be picky about my route.
Just because 2 roads both go North in general does not mean that they end up even close to the same location. I take a northern route from here to Seattle and one from here to New York, but they are on opposite ends of the country. It takes more than general direction to be the right road. And what is wrong about these quotes, these ideas and the philosophy behind them is subtle but serious.
I admit that I am powerless on my own strength to manage my life, to overcome my own bondage, to live life as I want to and should, to walk with God. I need a power outside myself, the grace of God, to have success, victory and a life worth living. So, I surrender my will and life over to the care of God to be infused with said outside power. This is the truth that has started me on a journey to freedom. I have never seen it fail. But the above quotes, and ones like them, are not about reliance on God's power and strength. They all rely on me looking and finding somewhere in myself the power and drive to get back up and keep trying. Success doesn't come from continuing to try. It sounds good, but it's a lie. Success in the things that matter comes from absolute and unconditional surrender.
The power within myself may help me get back up, but it will never keep me from failing again. I am not God, and I can't pull myself up by my bootstraps. Determination only makes failure hurt more. Continuing to get up and try to walk on the power of my inner strength and determination will only prove insanity by repeating actions that always give the same result, failure. But surrendering the fight, refusing to try to get up on my own and calling out to God, these things make a difference. His power leads to freedom and victory and a life worth living in a way that my fortitude and determination never can or will. People may say that I am weak or less than because I am using God as a crutch. No, God is not a crutch. In my experience, God's power is a stretcher, because I can't even limp my way into a life worth living and into freedom without Him and His power and grace.
Failure is not falling down. It's refusing to see that I need to be picked up and carried to get where I need to be. ~ Dalyn Woodard
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