Does God ever set us up for failure? Does He ever give us impossible tasks or make the tasks before us impossible, just so we'll fail them? I kind of doubt it. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing He would do, unless He had a very good reason.
Yet, He has one. Failing is a learning experience. Failure helps us grow and improve. There may even be some vital lesson(s) that can only be learned through failure. Don't we need to fail sometimes, as part of the mortal experience?
But of course, even if we do need to experience failure, God wouldn't have to pull any strings to make it happen. We experience plenty of failure, with or without God's influence. God doesn't set us up for failure because He doesn't have to. All he has to do is step back every so often and let life play out as it may.
When we experience failure, or any one of many other types of hardships, it's easy to feel like blaming God, yet I don't think it's usually His fault. God gave humans agency. Often, He just steps back and lets us decide what to do with that agency, whether that works out well for us or not.
Sure, there may be specific instances when God makes sure sure some doors close and others open, but in general, even if failure is an essential experience, I don't think God would set us up for it, if only because He doesn't have to.
1 comment:
I think we often set ourselves up for failure. Most often by failing to pray, or pray sincerely, and by failing to listen and obey. A quick prayer in the morning and just as we fall asleep just doesn't do it. We need to sincerely thank, consult with, and listen to the Lord all day about everything, but how often do we? We need to follow principles of truth we know. We need to realize that righteous living is success even when we do not achieve specific goals. Remember Alma whom the angel called blessed because he obeyed even though the people he tried to teach didn't listen.
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