2 Comforts for When You Fail

Peter failed. We all know the story.

When Jesus was arrested and taken to be questioned before the Sanhedrin, Peter stood waiting in the temple courts. But when people started recognizing him as Jesus’ disciple, he grew uncomfortable and denied knowing Him—three separate times—before the morning rooster crowed.

The story unfolded just as Jesus had predicted.

And perhaps even more interestingly, this story has a way of replaying itself in our own lives, as Christians today.

Now, most of us haven’t outright denied knowing Jesus the way Peter did.

But sometimes we hide our faith—only bringing it out around those we think will approve.

And other times, though we tell people we know Him, our actions can seem to deny that fact.

The truth is, every Christian is kin to Peter.

We know and love Jesus, but sometimes we still mess up.

We rely on our own strength and we fail.
We listen to the voice of temptation and we sin.
We start blending in with the world and we end up distancing ourselves from Jesus.

And though we don’t have a rooster to let us know we’ve gotten off track, we have the Holy Spirit, who gently convicts our hearts until we’re as grieved over our actions as Peter was over his.

Have you ever lived this story?

I’ll be the first to admit: I have—even this very week.

But there is hope for us. There is hope for Christians who fail like Peter did.

Because before Peter failed, Jesus spoke 2 truths to him that transformed how he dealt with his failure. And these truths are for us, as well.

Truth #1: Believers are called to repent when they sin, but their salvation is secure.

In John 13, Jesus encouraged Peter to let Him wash his feet, saying “unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” Peter enthusiastically replied, “Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (v8-9)

But Jesus answered in verse 10:

“Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean…” John 13:10 (NIV)

Remembering those words had to comfort Peter when he failed.

And they can comfort us, too.

If we have put our faith in Jesus, we are clean.

At salvation, we had a soul-cleansing bath in the blood of Christ—our sin was washed away and now we stand before God clothed in the crisp, unstained righteousness of Christ.

The beautiful thing is, nothing we do (or don’t do) can ever change this fact.

Because we did not earn our salvation, there’s nothing we can do to lose it.

Before God, we stand forever cleansed and justified in Christ.

And yet, as we go through life, all of us get our feet dirty.

Like Peter, we deny our Savior in word or in deed. And this kind of daily dirt isn’t something we can ignore…

It hinders our spiritual growth
It wrecks our testimony
It distances us from intimacy with God—because we pushed away.

And perhaps we begin to think, “All is lost! God will surely cast me out for this.”

But that is when we hear Jesus whisper, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet.”

And, suddenly, we notice: Jesus stands with towel in hand.

If we will turn away from our sin and turn back to Him in repentance, Jesus is more than willing to wash our feet.

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

Truth #2: Repentance leads to renewed usefulness for Believers.

In Luke 22:31-32, right before Jesus predicts Peter’s denial, He says to him:

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (NIV)

I love that last line: “when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Repentance (turning back to God) restores our usefulness.

Peter’s story exemplifies this! After reconciling with Jesus, he went on to be an impactful leader in the early church. He did go on to strengthen many brothers and sisters in the faith.

And this encourages me.

When we repent, Jesus washes our sins away and they can’t disqualify us from the good works He has planned for us. In fact, he can even redeem the bad and use it for good!

There is hope for Christians who mess up.

Peter failed. We all know the story. But that wasn’t the end of his story.

And no matter how badly we’ve failed, if we will turn back to Jesus, sin won’t be the end of our story, either.

This devotion is based on one of the Scriptures from my reading plan: “The Wonder of the Cross.” To receive a copy of the reading plan, sign up for the email list below. Hope you’ll follow along!

Join The Email List