How to Bounce Back from a Costly Mistake

Bouncing back from a costly mistake can be very difficult especially if you have lost a lot of money or resources. But don’t despair. The Bible reveals how we can cope up with our mistakes. Read this blog and learn how you can better bounce back and be back on your feet again!

FREE EBOOK promo footnote.pngYour chin dips to your chest as you move your hand to bring a chair closer to you. You sat down wondering what when wrong. Your joyful smile is slowly turning into a bitter frown and then, you became stone-faced. What you thought would be a great purchase or investment turned into your worst nightmare.

… And that’s the time when you realized you just made a costly mistake.

The money you have worked so hard – the same money you have saved for so many months – is now gone. No matter what you do, you can’t simply get them back anymore.

Have you made a costly mistake? I did and in fact, I just recently did. So, the experience is still fresh in my mind.

It caused a lot of sleepless nights. Even faking a smile is too difficult. The thought of working extended hours, sacrificing vacation just to save money, cutting down costs, and giving up some pleasurable experience just to save money still haunt me to this very day. All that became nothing just because of one simple but stupid mistake.

I know I’m not alone. You probably have a fair share of making costly mistakes – mistakes that might have caused you hundreds or thousands of dollars (or pesos in my case).

The important thing now is; how do you bounce back? How can you recover from a costly mistake? Most importantly, where do we turn to find solace and comfort from the depressing thought of losing a lot of money?

In this post, let’s answer those questions. Let me share with you the lessons I learned from my experience and how you can also apply them in your life.

How to Bounce Back from a Costly Mistake

Here’s how you can bounce back from your costly mistake.

Realize that it could have been worse

No matter how much money you have lost, there’s always a case where it could have been worse. In my situation, I could have lost everything that I’ve spent, but through God’s grace, I was able to get back a portion of the money. Though not all, it is better than nothing.

Think about it for a second: is that the worst thing that could ever happen to you? You might have lost hundreds, but at least not thousands. You might have lost a car or house, but at least you are still alive. You might have missed a business opportunity, but I’m sure there will still be other opportunities in the future that will come your way.

In my case, things could have easily gotten worse. But God has spared me from further pain and losses. If I have continued with my purchase and have not returned it to the seller, I could have lost more.

This reminds of the story of Job. He literally lost everything except his life. He lost his properties, children, and even good health.

Was it his fault? Maybe, but not entirely. It wasn’t him who caused the tragedies that have fallen upon him. In the same manner, it might not also be your fault when you lost your money. You might have been scammed or fooled into buying something.

But in all these, what was the response of Job?

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord
.”

The response of Job was astonishing, profound even!

This is a man who just lost the things he worked hard for. Still, he has the audacity and confidence to praise the Eternal!

What if, my dear readers, every time – every single time – we lost something, we would say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord?”

That would completely change the way we look at our costly mistake! It would dramatically and radically change the way we respond to losses.

Remember, we might lose something, but God will NEVER leave us with nothing.

The ULTIMATE LIST of 50 Best_ Christian Books of All Time (leaderboard)

Forgive yourself

“I’m so stupid.”

Those were the first words that came to my mind when I realized that I just lost my money.

Sometimes, we get too hard to ourselves. Maybe, because of the mistake you committed, your self-confidence decreased. You might have even lost the drive and motivation that you once have.

Now, it is perfectly normal to feel upset, sad, or disappointed with yourself. You can even allow yourself to feel this way, but not for long.

Whatever it is, you need to forgive yourself and simply move on. No one definitely wanted what happened and even if it was your fault, you simply can’t dwell too long in the past.

We read in the Bible:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

So if God can forgive us, are we greater than God that we can’t forgive ourselves?

When God releases us from the bondage of our sin or mistake, we must then stop sulking or wallowing in it as if we are still not free. The devil wants us to feel guilty and depressed, but God gives us hope that life isn’t over yet and He has a plan GREATER than our biggest mistake.

This leads us to the third point.

Top 10 Christian Movies You Should Watch Tonight (yellow banner)

Learn from your mistake

Mistakes will only be mistakes when you don’t learn from them.

Sometimes, God allows us to commit costly mistakes just to teach us valuable lessons. In my case, I have learned the value of godly wisdom and counsel. Before making a decision, it is my habit to ask for advice from my parents, pastor, wife, and friends.

All of them unanimously told me that it would be a bad deal for me. However, I didn’t listen to them. I listened to the smooth and cunning words of the seller who simply convinced me by stressing on the beauty of the product while downplaying its faults.

I didn’t know that that person isn’t being fully honest with me but rather, he purposely withdrew important facts about the product – facts that could have made me decide otherwise.

When all things have been said and done, I was left with a lesson that only experience can teach me. While yes, I already know the value of godly advice, it is the experience that actually drills it deeper in my mind.

If there’s any good that came out from this costly mistake, it would be that I learned to be wiser next time and never repeat the same mistake in the future.

Who knows, if I haven’t experienced this problem today, I might be making a bigger and costlier mistake in the future?

Truly, God knows everything. I might not be able to understand it now, but I’m confident that God is always in complete control.

10 of the Top Amazon Christian Gifts You Can Give Today

Move on

This life is a training ground for us, Christians. It will never be perfect. In fact, life’s unfair and the earlier you accept that, the happier you’ll become.

Don’t beat yourself up. Remember that the road to success is always under construction. No one ever said that it will be easy, but as long as you have God in your life, it will all be worth it.

The failures we commit today are the stepping stones we need to finally achieve success in the future. If we fail, it doesn’t automatically mean that we are a failure. God is just preparing us for the better things to come.

So, cheer up. Don’t lose hope or despair. Don’t let life’s trouble bring you down.

You know why?

Because no matter what happens in this life, we can have the confidence that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).


Featured book…

Fearless by max lucado footnote

2 thoughts on “How to Bounce Back from a Costly Mistake

  1. You’re right Joshua, time to move ahead! There will always be scammers, thieves, liars etc. in our lives but they are God’s children too and they are our brothers and sisters in God as evidenced in the opening of The Lord’s prayer “Our Father” (not “My Father”), and they deserve our love and forgiveness as commanded in Jesus’ 2nd commandment.
    How true the words of Job “The Lord gives, The Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” When my wife lost her job and money was tight, overtime in my job became available and I was able to make ends meet!
    My take on any profound losses financial or otherwise is, if I am able to put my whole, absolute, 1000% trust in God not only in adversity but all the time, there will be no extra room in my heart for any thing other than God given Purity and Humility. This I learnt from praying the “Hail Mary”. For those of us who hold the Virgin Mary dear to our hearts (I realize that not all Christians do), I encourage you, when you pray this, to really meditate on the meaning of the words “full of Grace, the Lord is with You”, and ” Pray for us sinners”. “Full of Grace” naturally means that She has no room for anything other than God’s Grace in Her Heart and “The Lord is with You”, because Her Heart was so pure that She could receive The Lord. This first section of the prayer recognizes the Purity of Her Heart where now in the second section of the prayer we ask Her to “Pray for us sinners” because we realize that our ego does not allow us to be pure in heart and need Her help to move towards this Ego-less State where we can fully trust in God and also be Pure of Heart.

  2. I was scammed a lot of money in purchasing a car. i still fill guilt and stupid because i have failed my wife and my children. God gave me another money,only to find i bought a very bad car with lots of problems. Now things are not good at home. I trust GOD but I just wonder if He will ever perfom a miracle for me on top of these silly mistakes? i have an elemnt of trusting people so much. So I ask myself why God is always leading me to evil people of no heart.? I declare the joy of the LORD is my strength. good people I know verses and promises of God but I need serious prayer now. My house seams to be falling apart. I have failed them,they wont forgive me. i also fail to forgive myself. pray for me for a now miracle.

Leave a Reply