Moving Beyond Failure – Part 1

There isn’t a single person among us who hasn’t experienced failure. Yet somehow, the majority of the time, it still has a paralyzing effect on us. This past week in Moving Beyond, we explored both the failure of David and Peter's denial of Christ.If a failure in your past has ever caused you to say to yourself, "I don't think God could ever use me," I encourage you to check out John 21. It might just be the most beautiful picture in Scripture of God restoring one of His children to Himself.In the Gospel of Luke, we’re told that the Lord Himself looked into the eyes of Peter as Peter was completing his third denial and the rooster began to crow. I can't imagine what it would feel like for Jesus to physically look at me as I denied Him. And yet I imagine the look on His face was not one of hatred or disgust, but one of compassion.A short time after that denial, following Jesus’ resurrection, He appears to Peter and the disciples along the shore. Just as Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" It was as if each question was putting a nail in the coffin of Peter’s failure. Jesus was long past it, but like us, I imagine that Peter was not. Jesus made sure that Peter knew his purpose in God’s economy was far from over. Completely restored, Peter goes on to be one of the most influential men in the creation of the Church.[bctt tweet="No matter what your failures have been, God still has a purpose for you."]I may not know what you’ve done and you may not know what I’ve done, but the Lord does… and as long as you’ve laid at his feet, He has forgiven you. Both David and Peter failed big time, but their lives are known more for their repentance than for their failures.It’s only the enemy who whispers you were a failure. The Lord whispers, "You are my child. Forgiven. Restored. Go and fulfill your divine purpose.”