Motivational literature on adversity is not Biblical Modern motivational literature says: "there is no failure; there is only feedback". They suggest that successful people look at mistakes as outcomes or results, not as failure.

The ancient literature has another view of failure, a view that had to be learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience, through mistakes. People self-limit themselves when they don't know these ancient truths. Most people do not achieve a fraction of what they are capable of achieving because they are stumbling in the dark without the wisdom of the past.

Here the beliefs found in motivational literature are compared with the wisdom literature.

Belief: Take Action. Bold, decisive action. Do something scary. Fear of failure immobilizes you. To overcome this fear, you must act. When you act, act boldly. Action gives you the power to change the circumstances or the situation.

The Bible suggests a more cautious approach. For example, Proverbs 14:8 "The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception."

In Biblical view, instead of "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" we should be thinking about "What could be the consequences to yourself and those around you?" It is not a matter of being brave. If it doesn’t work out the way you want, doing something else may not be possible, and beware if you fall into a trap.

Belief: Persist. Successful people just don’t give up. They keep trying different approaches to achieving their outcomes until they finally get the results they want.

But in Proverbs 22:3 "A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it." While successful people take note of things that don’t work, the Biblical examine their motives. Often excessively persistent can gain goalsat the expense of other more important things in life.

So if you have tried and failed, with self-help books lined up on your bookcase, the Bible suggests looking first for strength from the Lord: Isaiah 40:31

"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Belief: Don’t take failure personally. Failure is about behavior, outcomes, and results. Motivational literature claims failure is not a personality characteristic.

But in Proverbs 3:33 "The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous." Although what you do may not think you are the problem, when you don't get the result you wanted, you may be the reason.

And in Proverbs 16:2 "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord."

Belief: Do things differently. If what you are doing isn’t working, do something else. There is an old saying, "if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got." If you’re not getting the results you want, then you must do something different.

There are right things to do and wrong things to do, not just different things: Proverbs 15:10 "Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die."

Belief: Don’t be so hard on yourself. Hey, if nothing else, you know what doesn’t work. Failure is a judgement or evaluation of behavior. Look at failure as an event or a happening, not as a person.

The Bible disagrees again: Proverbs 10:16 "The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment." Correspondingly, examine your income to see which category you fall into: righteous or wicked. If you are reaping the income of the wicked, then it is time to look hard at yourself.

Belief: Fail forward fast. Tom Peters, the management guru, says that in today's business world, companies must fail forward fast. What he means is that the way we learn is by making mistakes, and we must make mistakes at a faster pace.

In Romans 8:25, "If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." All throughout the Bible are warnings against impulsive actions and encourages waiting for the right time.

Proverbs has a way to knowledge other than making more mistakes: Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."

So if we want to progress at a faster pace, we must wait and fear (or revere) the Lord. We don't need to keep making mistake after mistake. The key is to line your behaviour up with the word of God. Then you will reap the promise of Proverbs 4:6 "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you."

Belief: Treat the experience as an opportunity to learn. Think of failure as a learning experience. What did you learn from the experience that will help you in the future? How can you use the experience to improve yourself or your situation?

Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Then use what you learned from the experience to examine yourself and your motives.

Belief: Look for possible opportunities that result from the experience. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, says "every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit." Look for the opportunity and the benefit.

Adversity is a seed that God can bring to the harvest given a Biblical perspective. In fact, the Bible states that we can anticipate adversity resulting from success: John 15:2 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."  ¶ 9:52 PM