The months of November and December were met with financial setbacks are almost every turn. In November, I had to take time off for my mom’s shoulder replacement. When I don’t work, I don’t get paid. Some people have the benefit of leave. Not I. In December, I missed time when my daughter was hospitalized. I also had to take time from my regular job for my interim role at church. Then, to close out December, I missed a week of work due to the flu. Just when I thought the financial gifts from Christmas would catch us up and get us slightly ahead, I was wrong.
Today, I felt like such a failure because I could not completely meet a financial obligation I had to someone. What is the truth? The truth is I’m not a failure. The devil would love me to feel paralyzed and defined by my current (and temporary) financial plight. My financial status has always mattered. I have wanted a comfortable lifestyle for years, but I have not experienced that since 2013. This is the most difficult area of contentment for me. While I won several contentment battles in 2019, I have yet to win this one. Once again, this current situation does not define me. God will meet the need, yet I feel so responsible.
You may be reading this today, and you feel like a failure in some area of your life. Don’t believe the lie! You may be struggling right now, but you are not the struggle. I am not the struggle! May you know you are not along in the struggle. You may be in the fiery furnace of affliction, but the Son of God is right there with you. Let that encourage your heart tonight!
Matthew Winters (Honest Thoughts from a Pastor) 
I was thinking about trials and how we don’t know how God will use them for His glory. It may never be what we imagined but it will always be what He wants and it will have a purpose.
I am a chronic overachiever, and I always keep working towards a goal. I think this subconsciously correlates with the fear of being a failure. Amid your struggles, there seem to be heightened fears, but, I believe, looking in hindsight, there is always a reason. Sometimes, we don’t know why.
Man, do I know what you are going through! You have the right attitude. God will not fail you.
I can relate to you in every word that you said. It is as if you are stating all my personal problems. Thanks be to God I am not a failure because he is keeping me. Thank you for this encouraging word.