Can I Still Worship God After Failure?
"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." - Psalm 51:17
We have all experienced deep failures at some point in our lives. Maybe it was a relationship that ended, a job that was lost, or a failure to meet our own expectations. Whatever the case may be, deep failure can leave us feeling empty, alone, and hopeless.
When I went through my own season of brokenness, I remembered King David, the mighty king of Israel, who was no stranger to deep failure. His life provides us with an excellent example of how to worship God even in the midst of our darkest moments.
After his affair with Bathsheba, David arranged for her husband to be killed in battle so that he could cover up his sin. This led to all sorts of problems in David's life, including the death of their first child together. Can you imagine the airplay on the news 3,000 years ago?
Despite all of this, we see David pour out his heart to God in worship time and time again. In Psalm 51, he even refers to himself as a "man of sin." And yet, despite all of his failures, David continued to worship God with all of his heart.
David not only teaches us that we can worship God even in the midst of our deepest failures but that we must. No matter what we have done or how far we have fallen, we can always come back to God in repentance and find forgiveness and hope. David's life shows the importance of pouring out our hearts to God in worship. Worship is not just singing songs on Sunday mornings; it is an act of humility and surrender where we lay down our lives before God and ask for His help and guidance.
If you are struggling today because of deep failure, take comfort in knowing that you are not alone.
King David went through some dark times himself, but he continued to worship God even in the midst of his deepest failures. It is often in our darkest moments that we need to worship Him the most. When we are struggling and feeling lost, worship can be a beacon of light to guide us back to the path of righteousness.
In Psalm 51, we see David pouring out his heart to God in repentance after his sin. And in Psalm 103, David praises God for His mercy and forgiveness.
I believe there's a new chapter of praise for you as well.
No matter what we have done, no matter how far we have fallen, we can always come back to God in worship. So let us not hesitate to worship Him, even in the midst of our deepest failures.
Are you a pastor, an ex-pastor, or know of someone in need of help and hope again? Let’s talk.
Matt Davis
President | Chief Pastoral Officer
Matt Davis served as a Teaching and Executive Pastor for more than two decades in Orange County, California. After going through his own pastoral transition out of ministry, Matt learned the difficulty of this season.
He helped start Pastoral Transitions, a ministry committed to helping ministry leaders navigate pastoral transitions with grace. He also launched a nonprofit called The Jewish Road with his dad, where they help Christians make sense of the roots of their faith and help the Jewish people make sense of Jesus.
Matt is thankful for the opportunity to help others tell their story - something that has been so instrumental in his own life journey. But he is most grateful to be doing life with his wife of more than 20 years, Marilee, and their amazing three teenagers, Noah, Jed, and Karis. They now live in Lexington, Kentucky, and have dreams of life on a farm, surrounded by horses, beauty, and a connected community.
