A pastor who feels a failure expressed those feelings, and received this positive response from another pastor:

A few random thoughts for whoever you are,

You need to know that only events are failures; not people.

Don’t be afraid to fail in areas where you know you have no experience or gifting, and if you do fail in any of these areas, don’t be afraid to admit to it.

And don’t be afraid to have a shot at things you’ve never done, because you have no experience in failing at them. Who knows, you may find new areas of unsuspected strength and blessing.

Maybe if you have another look at the Jewish phone book listings scattered through the Old Testament and in Matthew 1, you may see the skeletons in Jesus’ closet. They weren’t all heroes, although in Hebrews 11 Barak gets a guernsey despite needing Deborah’s apron strings to steer him into battle.

It can be good to write down your work history, and give God time to add his endorsement or assessment of the people he has blessed because of your input.

Invest some time and some lunch money talking with people who you recognise as sucessful. Rather than rehearse all your pain, zip your lip about that and ask them how they have faced, outlasted or overcome their biggest challenges. It will do them good, and they may well widen or deepen you perspective. They may even enjoy offering you some mentoring.

You may also find CS Lewis’ Screwtape letters a help, as I’ve just recalled the advice to Wormwood to crank up the anxiety level so his patient’s natural cycle of undulations will begin to seem more alarming than they need to. In the meantime be assured that we’ll be praying for you, as I suspect that from time to time we all feel just like you are right now.

And God loves working through people who fail. Which is just as well, because no other kinds of people exist.

God bless you, because he hasn’t finished with you yet. And remember the resurrection is still a goer.