Pray it back

In 2000, a movie called Pay It Forward was in theatres. It starred Kevin Spacey as a teacher who gave a boy (Haley Joel Osment) a chance to change the world with an assignment. The basic idea was that instead of paying someone back for a kind deed, people should pay it forward and do something kind for someone else. It is a very cool movie, and if you’ve never seen it, it is definitely worth a rental.

Yesterday, someone commented about the concept of embracing failure, and I thought the idea merits further exploration. So, let’s explore.

I suspect that we absorbed an interesting misconception somewhere along the way that Christians are supposed to be always happy. It’s that tricky word JOY that the Apostle Paul seems to repeat a lot that trips us up, I think. In fact, the Bible is FULL of mourning, or grief, of pain, of consequences – and so are our lives. No use pretending, although Sunday mornings seem to be a Petri dish for pretending, don’t they?

Our lives are full of failure. We fail in relationships, we fail expectations, we fail God. Many times, we deal with this failure improperly. We hide it. We stuff it. We somehow twist it into success as we tell others. We wallow in it. We blame.

The other option is to EMBRACE it. It’s a funny little exercise that requires vulnerability and truth-telling. It also requires confession and apology. But here’s the thing – the psalms are full of failure – but the authors didn’t get stuck in it – no, they chose to PRAY IT BACK. Admitting mistakes and inadequacies does wonders for our pride problems, but if we choose to hold on to them, they turn into fear. Instead, we need to embrace our failure, and then give it back to God to redeem. Example:

1 Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
5 You know my folly, O God;
my guilt is not hidden from you.

Although this may seem a little extreme, in truth it’s not. David, who wrote this psalm, admits his failure, admits his panic, admits his inability to fix his mess, and prays it back. He continues the psalm (it’s #69, by the way, if you want to check out the whole thing) this way:

29 I am in pain and distress;
may your salvation, O God, protect me.
30 I will praise God's name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Somehow, the embracing of his failure, and the decision to pray it back to the God of his salvation, leads David to a place of praise and thanksgiving. A place of joy.

Failure happens. Embrace it, pray it back, and move forward.