“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’” — James 4:6

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Joao Fonseca is rapidly becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport of tennis. The young 19-year-old has quickly risen from No. 154 in the world rankings to the top 30 in about a year, showcasing an extremely well-developed and powerful game that has even the best players in his sport complimenting his early success.

Being from Brazil, he has also brought with him an enthusiastic fan base that provides unprecedented energy and support at nearly every match he plays around the world. Many commentators and journalists in the sport project he will soon be among tennis’ elite and challenge the top players for the biggest titles. But perhaps what has been one of the most impressive aspects of this young talent’s achievement is his mentality.

Following a particularly challenging match early on in a tournament he eventually went on to win, Fonseca reflected on how he navigated the ups and downs of the match: “I knew I had to stay very solid … with a good mindset, forgiving myself when I had the chances. … It’s about returning, failing and moving on.” As part of his development, he understands that unless he can find a way to put his misses in the rearview mirror and keep moving onto the next point, he will struggle to navigate a match he plays. If he can’t mentally move past his missed opportunities or mistakes, it will be hard to win.

All of us come up against missed opportunities or chances we didn’t take or mistakes we made. Mess-ups are a part of life. I know we like to think that success in anything is never making a mistake at all, but I truly believe Fonseca is onto something by pointing out that “returning, failing and moving on” is the actual key to real progress. If we never messed up, how would we ever learn our need for grace?

In our falling and failing is exactly the place where God meets us and shows us why we need to depend on Him and accept His forgiveness for the times when we have missed it. So often, we beat ourselves up over the times we’ve messed up, but God wants to us shake off those misses, get back up, and try again.

Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer once said that it’s actually not our obstacles or the challenges we face that make us unique, but rather our comeback stories. How we choose to dust ourselves off and move forward is where the real victory and strength lie, and in my opinion, that comes from knowing the One with the greatest comeback story ever told: dying a criminal’s death on a cross and walking out of a grave three days later.

In Jesus, resurrection and second chances are our guarantee. They are what give us hope and the ability to forgive ourselves because we know He has forgiven us. We don’t need to keep being stuck in our failures. We can accept the grace He offers us and keep giving that to ourselves and others over and over again.

Don’t let your mistakes define you. Instead, let grace define you and give you a new beginning.

— Katherine Singer

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