You're Not Stuck: Why Your Failures Don't Define Your Future
We've all been there. Another year begins, another list of resolutions made, and by February—sometimes by January 2nd—we're right back where we started. Same patterns, same struggles, same disappointments. It's easy to think, "This is just who I am. I'll never change."
But what if the problem isn't your effort? What if you're trying to fix the wrong thing?
The Real Problem Isn't Performance
In this week's message at Courageous Church, Pastor Dave unpacked the story of Moses at the burning bush—and revealed something many of us miss. Moses wasn't dealing with a performance problem. He had an identity problem.
Here was a man standing in the literal presence of God, receiving a divine calling, and all he could say was, "Who am I?" Forty years of dwelling on his failures had convinced him he was disqualified from anything significant. The past had become his identity.
Sound familiar?
When Failure Changes Who We Are
The fascinating part of Moses's story is what we learn later: he wasn't always this way. Scripture tells us he was once "powerful in speech and action." But after his catastrophic failure at age forty, Moses spent four decades going in circles—literally wandering in the wilderness. And that cycle of regret actually changed him. By the time God called him, he had developed a speech impediment that wasn't there before.
This is what happens when we rehearse our failures more than we embrace our potential. The things we do wrong slowly become the people we think we are.
The Power of Presence Over Performance
God's response to Moses is stunning in its simplicity. He doesn't give a motivational speech. He doesn't remind Moses of his past abilities or potential. He simply says, "I will be with you."
That's it. That's the game-changer.
Because real transformation isn't about trying harder or being better. It's about shifting our focus from our limitations to God's presence. It's about asking different questions: Not "What can I accomplish?" but "What could God do?" Not "Who have I been?" but "Who does He say I am?"
Your Life-Defining Moment
Moses had a choice that day at the burning bush—the same choice you have today. He could keep going in circles, defined by his past, or he could take one step of faith and let God's presence unlock something new.
Pastor Dave shared a powerful encounter on New Year's Day with a man named Jimmy, who stood at his wife's grave twenty years after her passing. Jimmy had seen potential in Joanie when she couldn't see it herself. His love had rescued her from a nursing home where she'd checked herself in to simply waste away. "I can see what you can't see," he told her. And those words changed everything.
That's exactly what God says to you today.
This Year Can Be Different
Your failures don't disqualify you. Your past doesn't determine your future. And you don't have to do this alone.
At Courageous Church, we're a community of imperfect people discovering that when we shift our focus from our performance to God's presence, real change becomes possible. Not because we try harder, but because who He is has the power to supersede who we've been.
So what would your vision for 2026 look like if it was based on God's potential instead of your past problems?
That's where transformation begins.
Ready to stop going in circles? Join us Sundays at Courageous Church in Charleston, SC. Because this is how you change—and you don't have to do it alone.