On Sunday, in church, my husband Matt was preaching about how to handle failure. He had us stop and write in our notes where we have failed. He said that you can not move forward past failure until you have first acknowledged the failure. I stopped to think and started to write down my failures. In that moment, I felt so overwhelmed. I thought of all the ways I had failed in 2017– all the things I wanted to accomplish and didn’t, the frustrations and failures I felt in my personal life and with my kids… and on and on the list went.
Failure can be debilitating if we don’t know how to handle it.
Peter’s Failure
One of the best examples of life after failure is the story of Peter. Peter’s story is so sad, but I can so easily relate to it. In Jesus’ deepest hour of pain and need, Peterone of His closest friends betrays Him. The Bible says that Peter cursed and denied ever knowing Jesus. At that moment, Jesus looked on Peter, Peter heard the rooster crow, and in that moment the weight of his failure sank in. The Bible says that Peter went out and wept bitterly.
How do you come back from a failure like that? Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, betrayed Him. Yet Jesus knew Peter was going to do this and gave him advice days before. We find His advice in Luke. Jesus is talking to Peter and says,
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Luke 22:31,32
Jesus says, “Simon, (Peter) Satan wants to separate you and pull you away from Me. But I have prayed for you, and when you come back to Me… strengthen your brethren.” Jesus knew that Peter was going to fail, so He gave Him what he needed to be able to make it back. “When you do fail, come back to Me,” Jesus said. “And after you come back to Me, use your failure to be an encouragement to your friends and family.”
Less than two months later, Peter preaches at Pentecost and over 3,000 people get saved!
What an encouragement to remember life is not over after failure!
After Failure
Jesus used Peter’s failure in such an incredible way. How can we learn from his example? How do you use your failure to propel you forward to accomplish what God has for you?
- Allow your failure to refocus your attention back on Jesus.
- Follow your failure up with a second chance. Try again.
- Commit to empathy towards others, not just authority. Don’t forget where you’ve come from.
- Use your failure to grow your faith.
- Leverage your failure with humility and strength.
If we can take those five steps, we will be able to come back after failure stronger than ever and be ready to accomplish what God has for us.
