When Failure Isn't Final | Troy's Writing Update
Hey fellow adventurers,
I hope you’ve spent some time in your hammock this summer. It’s been quiet here, though fall looks like it has some pretty epic travels in store.
We are dusting off the bus and getting it ready to travel to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula again. Some of our quests we hope to include are a backpacking trip to Isle Royale, kayaking to hidden beaches on Lake Superior, and sipping coffee while listening to the loons argue over who gets the last piece of fish.
By the way, if you’d like to follow our travels and love nature, check out the videos on my Instagram, @troyhooker_author.
I plan to get some serious writing done during this time as well. I have about fifteen percent of Demon Tide: Shadow World left to write, and then it’s off to the beta readers (love my beta warriors!) to be ripped to shreds. Hey, it has to get worse before it gets better, right?
Y’all, this book is going to be craaaaazy. Matt and the other warriors are really going to be put to the test this time. No more fighting off bats at Grandpa’s mansion. No, this is intensity on a worldwide, cataclysmic scale. They will face some serious physical, emotional, and spiritual distress in their pursuit of saving their parents.
My hope is that Demon Tide: Shadow World will be available yet this year. The release date is still up in the air, but I’m shooting for November. Shadow World, here we come!
Oh yeah! I forgot to mention, I’ve been building a Demon Tide series playlist on Amazon Music. So if you’re interested in hearing some monster-hunter end-of-the-world type music, give it a shot at the button below.
Stay faithful, adventurers, and keep in the Light.
When Failure Isn't Final
"There are consequences that come with failure, but they shouldn't steal your purpose or identity. Consider the fact that God might even use failure to teach you—or to save you from an even worse failure or a destructive decision."
Let’s talk about failure. Not the little, everyday mishaps we have, but the big, gruesome failures we experience in life.
The kind that burn bridges, leave scars, or cost more than you can pay. Those moments when you wished more than anything that you could turn the clock back and do it all over.
You might say that you’re strong enough to handle failure. Great. But what about those times when our failure doesn’t hurt just us, but others as well? Most relationships recover. Some do not.
Now I suppose you are wondering if I’ve ever big-time failed. The answer—as you might expect—is yes. A few times, in fact.
And they weren’t minor fails. They were doozies.
I won’t give you all the spoilers from my life, but I’ll give you one.
It was my first year of college at Liberty University. I was on my own. I had my own car. Money flowing in from Mom and Dad. It was going to be a great year.
And it was. I had the time of my life! I made new friends, ordered Chinese takeout to the dorm, spent many afternoons chasing waterfalls in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and stayed out too late going places my mother would be ashamed to know about.
When money ran low, I signed up for one of those credit cards on campus. A $2,500 limit! That meant more Chinese takeout nights, morning matinees, and new headphones at Best Buy. I was busy all the time, but somehow never made time for class.
It all came to a head during my second semester. My grades were abysmal, and I was $1,800 in the hole. And now I had to tell Mom and Dad.
When I told them, they reacted just as I expected—with hurt, shock, and disappointment. How could their wonderful, college-bound son do such a thing?
I spent the next year working a backbreaking job digging holes and hauling mulch for a landscaping company to help pay off the debt I owed.
It was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, aside from getting married and giving my life to Jesus. Why? Because I learned something valuable that year: life wasn’t full of redos, and some choices have consequences.
If I wanted to go back to school, I’d have to pay for it on my own. And if I wanted to finish at Liberty, I had six failing grades that would haunt my GPA for the rest of my undergraduate years.
Let’s have some real talk for a minute. That was only one of my failures. If you’re like me, there are some failures you don’t even want to talk about. I understand. That’s life. We all make mistakes and, hopefully, learn from them.
The pain you endure might sting long into the future, but I can promise you God doesn’t want it to last forever.
There are three truths I want to share with you about failure.
I learned these truths from our friends at Focus on the Family, and I promise you they will help guide you through the thick of it.
Truth #1: Failures Don't Define Us
When you get it wrong, remember you are human. Failure doesn’t have to become part of your identity. You may remember it for the rest of your life, but it shouldn’t dictate how your future unfolds.
There are consequences that come with failure, but they shouldn’t steal your purpose or identity. Consider the fact that God might even use failure to teach you—or to save you from an even worse failure or a destructive decision.
Truth #2: Failures Are Not Final
When you fail—especially in a big way—there may be some tough times ahead, but they won’t last forever. A day will come when the pain isn’t so sharp, and the consequences become a distant nightmare. Bridges you burned may mend. People you hurt may forgive you.
Your job is to do what is necessary to make things right. If that means fessing up and making amends, that’s your responsibility. Not only will that start the healing process with others, but it will also begin the guilt-removing process you so desperately seek.
Being defensive and hiding your mistakes will only prolong an already difficult situation.
Truth #3: Failures Have the Power to Refine
There is a bright side to failure. It can lead to a shift in perspective, helping us see the consequences of our actions in an entirely new light—and eventually encouraging us to make changes in our lives for the better.
Does that mean you’ll make the perfect choice when faced with the next decision? Probably not. Life is full of choices, and we’ll probably do something selfish or foolish again at some point. Each new failure may bring a new set of problems, but hopefully each one will refine us a little more.
And the great news is that God gave us humans the amazing gift of resilience. When something tough happens, we have the ability to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and move on. That goes for when we are the source of the problem, too. The guilt may eat at us for a while, but eventually it will fade. Life will go on. Don’t let that guilt stop you from becoming who God wants you to be.
Bold. Confident. Purposeful. Happy.
One Last Thing...
The Bible is full of people who failed, yet God still used them to accomplish His will. Moses. King David. Jonah. Peter. You know the stories.
These were real men of God, and they failed big time! Come on—one of them even betrayed Jesus to His face!
I don’t say that to give you permission to fail. God wants us to seek righteousness, and He blesses righteous behavior. That should be our goal—not failure. We should pursue the perfection of God with all that we have. And when we fail, pick yourself up and try again. Ask for forgiveness. Make amends. Refine yourself. Do better next time.
And don’t worry—I’ve been right there with ya.
Reflection
Think about a mistake you’ve made that you wish you could take back.
What did you learn from it? Did anything good eventually come from that difficult experience?
We all have failures we’d rather forget.
Maybe it’s a poor decision. A broken relationship. Words you wish you could take back. A missed opportunity. Or simply a season where you wandered farther from God than you intended.
Take a few quiet moments to think about one failure that still weighs on your heart.
Have you allowed that moment to become part of your identity?
Or have you allowed God to use it to shape you into someone wiser, stronger, and more compassionate?
Remember: your worst moment is not the end of your story.
Dive Deeper
Failure has a way of convincing us that we’re disqualified.
It whispers that we’ve gone too far, broken too much, or disappointed God beyond repair. But Scripture tells a different story.
As you reflect, consider:
- What failure is hardest for you to let go of?
- Have you truly accepted God’s forgiveness, or are you still holding yourself hostage?
- How has God already used a difficult season to help someone else?
- Is there a conversation, apology, or act of forgiveness you’ve been avoiding?
- What would it look like to take one small step toward healing this week?
Failure may leave scars, but God has a remarkable way of turning scars into stories of hope.
Adventure Challenge
Instead of focusing on your failures, focus on what they taught you.
Grab a notebook or the notes app on your phone and write down three moments in your life when you failed or that didn’t go according to plan. Under each one, answer these questions:
- What did this experience teach me?
- How did it make me stronger?
- How has God used it for good?
- How can this lesson help someone else someday?
You may be surprised to discover that some of the experiences you’d erase from your past are the very things God has used to prepare you for your future.
Your failures don’t have to become your identity. But they can become part of your testimony.
Sources & References
2 Samuel 11
Luke 22:54-62
Jonah 1:1-3
Numbers 20:1-12
