Does the Bible say anything about failure?

from the old testament

• Moses initially failed by taking matters into his own hands when he killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11–15), yet God used him to lead Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10–12).
• David committed grave sins, including adultery and murder, yet he repented, and God restored him (Psalm 51).
• Jonah ran from God’s call, but God’s persistence led him to fulfill his mission (Jonah 1:3–6). God wants to redeem even our missteps.
• Proverbs emphasizes learning from failure and correction. Proverbs 24:16 says, "for the righteous falls seven times and rises again."
• Proverbs 3:11–12 speaks of God’s loving discipline, encouraging us to accept correction as a sign of His care.
• The story of Israel itself is one of repeated failure and restoration. Despite Israel's frequent disobedience, God continually called them to repentance, promising them forgiveness and a future hope. Jeremiah 29:11, spoken to exiled Israel, offers assurance: "For I know the plans I have for you...plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." God is faithful to restore us even after failure.

from the new testament

• The Bible tells us that God may use suffering and failure to build into us character (Job 14:1; Romans 5:3–6; James 1:2–4).
• When Jesus sent out His disciples to preach, perform miracles, and heal, He essentially warned them that some people would reject them—failure. He told them to simply move on and go somewhere else (Luke 9:1–5; John 15:18).
• When our failure includes sin, we can trust that in Christ, we are eternally secure and that God is faithful to cleanse and restore us when we confess (1 John 1:9; Hebrews 4:14–16; 10:19–23).

implications for today

Failure, as we know from the Bible and from our own experiences, is part of life. God wants to use every part of our lives to bring glory to Him and to make us more like Jesus (1 John 2:6; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1–2; Romans 8:29). Paul writes that God can strengthen us in our weakness (Philippians 4:11–13). God has the ultimate victory, and nothing can separate us from His love. In Christ, "we are more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37; cf. Romans 8:1–39). Failure for a believer in Christ is never a permanent state.

God uses every part of our lives, including failures, to refine us and grow us more into the image of Christ. In His hands, failure becomes an instrument of sanctification—God uses our weaknesses to humble us, to show us our need for Him, and to develop a greater dependence on His strength, rather than our own (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). When we fail, we’re reminded that our worth and identity are secure in God’s love, not in our successes or abilities. This sanctification process grows our faith and equips us to show compassion and understanding to others who stumble. We who have experienced God’s grace ourselves can impart it to others. Even in failure, God lovingly molds us to walk in obedience, rely on His power, and reflect His character.