Perspective on Failure Part 3 - Jesus Turns Failure Into Good

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean."


But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."


And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."


And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."


After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you."


Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man."


And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

-Matthew 26:69-75 (ESV)

    Peter, the loyal, passionate, temperamental, impulsive, and quick-tongued disciple had indeed denied his friend. Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61) and when their eyes met, the disciple immediately remembered Jesus' words. In despair, Peter went out and wept bitterly. The number one ranked disciple had failed!

     Previously, I quoted Pastor Dave Harvey,"If God is truly sovereign, there must be a place for our failures in his plan." Truly this is the case for in Luke's version of the story, we see Jesus saying to Peter this:

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

-Luke 22:31-32 (ESV)

Sean MacEntee

    Peter's failure had a purpose. Satan was going to sift Peter like wheat. Sifting is the process of separating the true wheat from the chaff. In other words, Satan wanted to test Peter in order to prove that this disciple wasn't real about his faith in Christ. He did it by exploiting Peter's weakness,his pride and bravado. Yet Peter's failure wasn't going to accomplish what Satan had hoped. Peter had Jesus on his side, praying for him and assuring him that he was going to survive this test. In fact, this failure didn't end Peter's apostolic call. Rather, he would come out of it stronger in faith and would in turn strengthen the other disciples. I can imagine Peter saying to his brothers, "If Jesus can redeem a failure like me, surely he will redeem you!"


    Our failures have a divine purpose in that they showcase God's power to rescue us from trouble. Jesus can turn failure into good. Only Jesus can transform failure into saving faith. Therefore, experiencing a disaster is not an end for the Christian. No failure is ever big enough to make God say, "Your failure screwed-up my plans!"

    This failure was a watershed moment in Peter's life. To be the apostle that he became later, God had to uproot the pride that entangled his heart through failure. Again, what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good.  Dave Harvey points out this truth about pride:

"As a pastor of more than two decades, I've noticed a curious thing. There are certain kinds of entrenched pride that only failure uproots....Sometimes God loves us so much he'll nudge us off the edge of the altar we've erected to ourselves or to our accomplishments. We fail big-time but that failure brings a voice that pierces our pride so we're finally able to hear."

    I am so glad that through Jesus Christ, our failures do not chain us. Rather, the Lord uses it to free us from the bondage of sin, to demonstrate his love for us, and to experience his irresistable grace so that we would live a life that is glorifying to Him.