RUN TOWARD THE ROAR
(A devotional for people who are done playing it safe)
If You Knew You Were 25 Failures Away…
If God showed up and said, “You’re exactly 25 failures away from your dream,” how fast would you start failing?
You’d be sprinting into mistakes like it’s an Olympic event.
You’d stop crying over setback number three like it’s a tragedy and start saying, “Cool—22 to go.”
But that’s not what we do, is it?
We panic, overthink, and call it “discernment.” (Church code for I’m scared to move.)
We treat failure like it’s contagious, not like it’s part of the syllabus.
You’re not stuck—you’re just counting wrong.
Every flop is one less between you and the finish line.
Run Toward the Roar
Here’s the thing about lions: the old ones, too slow to hunt, are still useful. They stand on one side of the field and roar—loud, terrifying, guttural. The prey runs the other way, right into the young lions waiting in silence. The roar facilitates the ambush, the trap that’s been set.
That’s how the devil operates.
He can’t actually destroy you, so he just roars loud enough to make you destroy yourself.
He’s got more volume than victory.
Peter nailed it: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
Like a lion—not actually one. Toothless poser.
Fear’s loud, but it’s not strong.
It can only chase you if you run away from it.
Faith Runs Toward the Roar
David didn’t tiptoe toward Goliath.
He ran toward him.
1 Samuel 17:48 literally says, “David ran quickly toward the battle line.”
He didn’t ask for a committee’s approval. He didn’t post a poll about it on social media.
He saw the roar, felt the fear, and sprinted straight through it.
Because here’s the truth:
The thing you fear most often contains the breakthrough you’ve been begging God for.
Afraid of confrontation? That’s where healing is waiting.
Afraid of failure? That’s where growth is hiding.
Afraid of rejection? That’s where your calling is sharpening.
God hides your purpose behind the thing you’re scared to face—so you’ll need Him to reach it.
The Roar Is a Lie Detector
When fear roars, it reveals what you really believe.
It’s easy to say “God’s in control” when everything’s going according to your plan.
But when the bills stack, the doors close, and the silence screams? That’s when your theology graduates from theory to reality.
Fear exposes whether your faith is built on your comfort or on Christ.
And sometimes God lets the roar echo long enough for you to remember—Satan’s roar got declawed at Calvary.
You don’t need to silence the roar; just remember who already did.
The Only Way Out Is Through
“Moses had to lift his staff before the Red Sea split.”
“Joshua’s priests had to step into the Jordan before it parted. God moves when we do.”
Joshua had to walk into the Jordan before it dried up.
Peter had to step onto the water before it held him.
Everyone wants a miracle; no one wants to take the step that makes one necessary.
But faith doesn’t grow in the waiting room—it grows in motion.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s moving before fear finishes its sentence.
Failure Isn’t Fatal—Quitting Is
Proverbs 24:16 says, “Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.”
Translation: You can’t lose if you refuse to stay down.
Jesus fell carrying the cross—think about that.
The Savior of the world stumbled under the weight of His own mission.
Did He quit? No. He got up, again. And because He did, we get to.
You can’t resurrect what you won’t crucify.
Sometimes that includes your pride, your plan, or your illusion of control.
Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight
This isn’t motivational fluff—it’s divine stubbornness.
Every time you get up, you preach a sermon hell can’t ignore:
“You hit me, but I’m still standing.”
The cross looked like a failure until Sunday morning.
Heaven calls that “the setup.”
If it’s not over, it’s not resurrection yet.
Run Toward the Roar—Because That’s Where Freedom Lives
Fear will always promise safety and deliver stagnation.
It’ll whisper, “Stay here where it’s predictable.”
But safety never made a single disciple.
The early church ran toward lions.
Daniel ran toward the den.
Jesus ran toward the cross.
Every roar you face is just a recycled lie:
“You’ll die if you try.”
But the truth?
You’ll die if you don’t.
You can either be devoured by fear or discover your faith—but not both.
So What Now?
Start failing faster.
Run toward what scares you.
Trip, fall, cry a little if you have to—but then get back up and whisper, “Next.”
Because every failure is just another receipt proving you’re still in the fight.
And behind every roar is a breakthrough hell hoped you’d never reach.
If you knew you were 25 failures away, wouldn’t you start running toward them?
The Best Is Yet to Come,
Rev. John Roberts