Have you ever failed?  I am not talking about failing English class.  I am talking about bigger ‘life failures.’  For example, losing your temper and yelling at your kids.  Check.  Been there.  Done that.  Other examples abound.  Just think back across your week.  I am sure if you think hard enough (and honestly) you will find multiple examples of failure.  Failure is a part of our lives.  I believe that everyone has moments of failure.

Failing stinks.  It is discouraging.  It weighs down on you.  Failure fosters pessimism.  It causes you to make statements like, “I just can’t do anything right.”  Before long you start feeling like a failure in every area of your life.

A Terrific Example of Failure

Consider Peter for a moment.  He was one of the 12 disciples specifically chosen by Jesus.  Peter failed catastrophically.  His failure was at times truly epic.  Consider these examples from the life of Peter:

• Jesus called Peter ‘Satan.’  In Matthew 16, Peter makes the bold confession of faith and declares that Jesus was the Messiah.  Then just a few verses later, Peter rebukes Christ for stating that He had to go to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and then resurrect.  Jesus looks at Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.”  Peter failed.
• Peter sleeps instead of praying.  In Mark 14 Peter falls asleep while Jesus prays.  Jesus wakes him up.  Peter falls asleep again.
• Peter denied Christ.  In Matthew 26 we see Peter’s most infamous failure.  Three different times Peter denied that he even knew Jesus.  His failure culminates with an oath he swears denying any knowledge of Jesus.  Scripture tells us that this horrific failure caused Peter to ‘weep bitterly.’
• Peter was rebuked by Paul.  In Galatians 2, Paul rebukes Peter for his hypocritical behavior.

It is hard to imagine failing in a more profound way than Peter.  Peter walked daily with Jesus Christ.  He ate with Him.  He traveled with Him.  He learned from Him.  And then, he denied ever knowing Him.  What tragic failure!

Peter Failed.  We Fail.  Now What?

What do we do after we fail?  Tragically, too many people wallow in their failure.  They live in the ditch of guilt and are never able to move past their failures.  This robs them of their joy.  This prevents them from serving the Lord.  Peter did not stay defeated.  Consider what Peter did after his colossal failure.  He preached at Pentecost and 3,000 were saved.  He mentored Mark.  He was the first to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.  There is life after failure.  Let me give you four specific steps you should take after you have failed.

Four Steps You Should Take After a Failure

1. Confess your sin to God.  The kinds of failure I have been addressing today are all sin.  Moving past your failure begins with repentance.  Confess your sin to God.  Tell Him you are sorry.  Ask Him for His forgiveness.  He will forgive you.  See 1 John 1:9.
2. Seek forgiveness.  Often your failure has brought pain to others in your life.  After you have confessed your sin to God, go to those that you have hurt.  Ask for their forgiveness.  Whether or not they forgive you is irrelevant.  You simply go apologize and seek their forgiveness.
3. Read your Bible.  Failure breeds emotional lies.  Emotional lies are when we choose to accept what we ‘feel’ as truth.  Failure cons us into believing our emotions rather than truth.  The Bible is the only source of absolute truth.  After you have failed, your mind needs truth.  Truth is liberating.  It brings clarity.
4. Serve God.  Peter did not remain a failure.  He preached at Pentecost (Acts 2).  He took the Gospel message to the Gentiles (Acts 10).  He did not allow his past failures to stop him from serving God.  Allow your failure to help you be a more effective servant of God.  Past failures often shape us for future ministry.

That’s all for today.  Happy Friday.

Stephen