Thank God He uses failures! I’m not sure where I would be if God did not use people who continually mess up. I believe there is man in scripture who can totally relate to this. It’s Peter. As I read the accounts of Peter while he faithfully followed Jesus, I also see a passionate man. I see a man who was rugged, uneducated, yet very smart. This fisherman turned disciple was often the first to talk which caused him some serious embarrassment. However, he was also the first to act on the faith he had in Jesus. This earns him a great deal of respect from me.
In Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of The Christ” we see Peter’s life summed up by his denial of Christ. Though this movie is accurate, the depiction of Peter, though accurate, is still incomplete, mainly because this two hour movie is not focused on Peter but on Jesus. Peter did what any one of us would have done. If you’re proud enough to say you would not do this you, are uninformed about the cruelty of the Romans. Peter knew Jesus was in trouble. He also knew that he alone would not be able to save Him. Peter feared for his own life; even though his heart was to speak up for Jesus, even to fight for his release, as was evidenced in the drawing of his sword and the cutting off of the
soldier’s ear.
To really understand how to overcome despair in times of failure, we must see the transformation in Peter’s life after Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead. We must witness the validation of Peter by Jesus when He commanded Peter to feed His sheep three times as a mark of complete forgiveness and restoration. We must see the man willing to risk his life to be an Apostle and eventually be crucified upside down because of his humility toward his friend, Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Peter teaches us how to conquer despair when we have failed. Mark my words, you and I will fail. The question is how many times will we get back up? Peter fell, but he always got back up.
Proverbs 24:16 (MSG)
No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; soon they’re up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces.
Remember; before you can fail you have to try. In my opinion, Peter is one of the greatest and genuinely real characters who exemplify faith in scripture. Faith is the key to overcoming despair. Faith is the only way to please God, and Peter had great faith. Let’s take a look at the five steps to overcoming despair. The first is…
1. Focus on the problem solver not the problem.
Any Christian who desires a victorious life, an abundant life, must put their faith in God who solves every problem according to his great pleasure and perfect will. The problem with most Christians is when problems arise we get upset with God. We ask “Why?” We don’t look to Him as our Heavenly Father who does only what is best for us. We see Him as a cruel, vindictive God. This keeps all of us from doing great things for the kingdom and it keeps us from ever getting out of the boat and walking on water. This is the opposite of Peter. He took “risks because he had faith. (Give background on story)
Matthew 14:28 (MSG)
Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the
water.”
Peter says “Lord call me.” In the original language one meaning is “command me” to come to you. Peter doesn’t want to be asked, he wants Jesus to tell him. Do you know why? Because whenever God commands us to do something, He always makes sure we can do it. He equips us. God will never ask you to go through anything He hasn’t equipped you for. He will never give you a task that you cannot accomplish, through his strength. That’s why Peter says “Call me, Command me, to get out and walk to you Lord.” Now many people just want to focus on what happened next. It is true that Peter started looking around at the waves and got scared. But I don’t see any of the other disciples out there with him. No one else got out of the boat.
Matthew 14:30 (MSG)
But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”
He got a lot further than everyone else. Yet there is a lesson in Peter’s failure, and it is this. We must keep our eyes on Christ. We can’t let the waves of the world scare us. Remember, our focus should be on the problem solver not the problem itself.
Romans 3:31 (MSG)
But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does…what happens, in fact is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.
Shift your focus from your desires to God’s desires. Change the way you think. Don’t ask God to change the circumstances. He doesn’t always want us to get out of the storm.
Focus on Jesus!
The next key to overcoming despair in times of failure:
2. Accept failure with the attitude “At least I tried”.
Now don’t get me wrong! Sometimes this statement is an excuse for not preparing, for not planning and for laziness. This is not what I’m talking about. The attitude in failure when you know you have done all you can do should be “I gave it my best! While everyone else criticized, while everyone sat on the sidelines and said I’d never make it. At least I tried.”
Illustration - I once planned and prepared for a Duathalon. A 2-mile run to my mountain bike, a 15-mile mountain bike race and a 5.5 mile finishing run. In this race I was 5th at the start of the bike part and closing in on the lead when my tire lost air. This was the beginning of 5 flat repairs that put me in the back of the race. I ended up doing the last 2 miles carrying my bike. I was last and no one really cared. However, I knew I tried. I did my best. As I was walking I thought about all the people watching, fingers pointing, etc., and I thought to myself ‘At least I’m in the race, not in pride, but with an attitude of thankfulness and satisfaction.’
You never read about the disciples pointing fingers at Peter or joking about the mistake because they knew those in the boat can’t talk about those walking on the water. It must have been a quiet boat ride home. Peter thinking about all he learned and realizing he had actually walked on water. The other disciples had to be thinking “Why didn’t I give it a shot?”
Matthew 14:32 (MSG)
The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down.
You’ve got to get out before you can get back in!
Peter knew what it meant to suffer, whether self inflicted suffering or suffering for the name of Jesus. Yet Peter takes his experiences and decides to encourage others with these words later in his life.
1 Peter 4:1 (LB)
Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power…
He lets us all know that when we suffer it is God’s cleansing agent to teach us to do what is right. You may say, “I thought Christians should not suffer?” Remember we are only visiting this world. Our home is in Heaven, and besides, we as Christians know how to handle suffering. Like C.S. Lewis responded when asked “Why do the righteous suffer?” He replied, “Why not, we are the only ones who can take it.”
I believe Peter was one of the wisest Apostles because we learn from our failures as long as we don’t let them drive us into despair. Like Malcolm Muggeridge said in 1990 – “Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness.” Let’s remember when failure comes “At least I tried.” And now I can learn from my mistakes.
A third key to overcoming despair through faith is:
3. Invest genuine effort into correcting mistakes.
If we fail because we did not plan or prepare or work to the best of our ability, then we need to face up to this. Peter’s failure depicted in the movie “The Passion of the Christ” is very vivid. He denied Christ three times. Like I said earlier - he did what all of us would have done. The focus should not be what he did, but how he responded to it. Despair takes over in failure, when our hearts get hard, or when we blame others. The place to start after any failure is with self-examination, but don’t stay there whipping yourself with guilt. Move on to putting genuine effort into correcting the mistakes. The real frightening element to Peter’s denials would have been if he did not break down and cry. If he didn’t feel any pain. If he tried to justify his position. But he did not!
Matthew 26:75 (NJB)
…and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, ’Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
He wept from the depths of his soul. Have you ever wept that way? I have, and it is both painful and therapeutic. Peter doesn’t only weep, he weeps deep within. He knew that he had denied the only one who was truly perfect! He knew that Jesus was going to die, but he just didn’t realize that this had to happen. I love Peter. He is a passionate person, a man with a heart for God.
In our Christian society, we uphold men and women who appear righteous. We almost idolize those who seem to have it all together. We even exalt our preachers and Elder’s to places of worship. What we need is a strong dose of reality. That, as good as people may appear, we all mess up. We are all limited by the flesh, the world and even the devil. We are human. Honestly, some of the most twisted and hurting people appear the strongest. Those who never admit faults are not sinless, they are dishonest. Genuine people are those who are honest about their failures so that they are dependant on God’s strength.
Proverbs 28:13 (LB)
A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.
God gives grace to those who admit they are weak. He gives chances to those who say, “I blew it.” We all blow it.
From this life lesson we can learn countless principles. The one that stands out most to me from Peter’s example is; God uses those who are weak to change the world. The Apostle Paul speaks to this from his own personal testimony in…
2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 (NIV)
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me…That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
When we are weak then we can be made supernaturally strong through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Peter became a powerful leader in the early New Testament Church, and though the Bible never lets us hear the conversation that Peter and the other disciples had, I think it is safe to assume there were many moments of restoration and apologies to one another for their failures. Yet each one (with the exception of Judas) committed the rest of their lives to Christ, and they lived by the decree of Paul in Romans 14:19 (NIV):
Romans 14:19 (NIV)
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
They were peaceful men committed to unity. Peter learned this lesson and never again feared for his own life as he lived for the gospel.
Look at the complete transformation in Peter’s life .After seeing Jesus risen from the dead. This came only months after his denial of Jesus. What a change!
Acts 2:22-24, 37 (NIV)
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him…When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”
When troubles arise in your life, if you want to avoid despair; then focus, accept and invest genuine effort into correcting mistakes.
Also faith means:
4. Take the lessons and use them as stepping stones.
Peter could have folded. He could have found a rope and taken Judas’ way out. He could have gone back to his life before Jesus, but he didn’t. He chose to use his lessons as stepping stones for future ministry.
I love his honesty about our humanness, about what is really important. You could never see a big proud fisherman say these words. But a humble, mature believer who chose to face his struggles and not deny them, a man who learned from life lessons. Peter said these words…
1 Peter 1:24-25 (NIV)
For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
Men will not last. Their plans and their programs will fade. But God’s word stands forever. He learned after Jesus rose again that the only thing that really matters is what God has said and done.
God allows us to go through things so we will learn this same lesson, but not just learn it, learn it well. Like he said to the nation of Israel in their sins, he says to us:
Jeremiah 12:16 (NCV)
I want them to learn their lessons well.
Learn your lessons well.
One other lesson Peter learned was that our actions speak far more than our words. He learned in his maturity that how we act toward unbelievers is very important; that one day God will bless us for our godly lives by causing those who don’t know God to glorify him because of what they have seen in us. For Peter this verse was a radical change. It was a 180 degree change from that night in the courtyard when he lost his cool. But again, he learned his lesson well.
1 Peter 2:12 (NIV)
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Despair will not capture you or I if we are willing to live by faith, to focus on the problem solver, accept our failures with the attitude “At least I tried” invest genuine effort into correcting our mistakes and take the lessons and use them as stepping stones. Yet the greatest lesson faith can teach us is to never give up.
5. Have the courage to try again.
Not long after Jesus ascended into Heaven, Peter was faced with a tell-tale moment in his life. He had to once again believe that Jesus was who He said He was. Now you may say “Well, that would be easy now that he saw him come back from the dead.” Yeah, but earlier in Christ’s ministry he saw Jesus raise the dead and even that didn’t stop him from denying Christ. He even saw Jesus transfigured into glory right before his eyes. Yet he still blew it. The question would be, will I have the courage to try again? We have all had powerful experiences of God’s hand, the question is when the excitement wears off and we blow it, will we try again? Will we trust again?
The answer for Peter was an emphatic Yes! As a crippled man was brought to him, he made the choice to trust in what Jesus had said, Jesus’ words were “Greater things than I have done you will do.” After his spiritual transformation Peter made the choice to trust the words of Jesus in every situation. He chose to never deny Christ again. He then said these words after being asked by the beggar for materials.
Acts 3:6 (NIV)
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Peter must have been a little nervous. After past failures he must have struggled with doubt. Yet he trusted God.
What an awesome moment. Peter knew he did not heal this man; it was the power of God through faith coming through Peter. He had the courage to try again. And there were fewer and fewer failures as Peter continued his work in the ministry.
This is what we can hope for. Not perfection! We will not “arrive” here on earth; we will always have sin with us until Heaven. But we can see fewer failures and more victories as we trust in God more and yield to His spirit.
God wants men and women of faith. God wants men and women of courage. Faith can help you conquer despair after failure.
I don’t know what you have done or how bad you’re hurting, but I know God wants to use that hurt for His glory. Be courageous and try again.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but going ahead in spite of the fear.”
1. Focus on the problem solver not the problem.
2. Accept failure with the attitude “At least I tried”.
3. Invest genuine effort into correcting mistakes.
4. Take the lessons and use them as stepping stones.
5. Have the courage to try again.
Remember, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV)
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
Closing Illustration
Peter: How to Overcome Despair in Times of Failure-Outline
Proverbs 24:16 (MSG)
No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; Soon they’re up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces.
1. Focus on the problem solver not the problem.
Matthew 14:28 (MSG)
Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the
water.”
Matthew 14:30 (MSG)
But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”
Romans 3:31 (MSG)
But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does…what happens, in fact is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.
2. Accept failure with the attitude “At least I tried”.
Matthew 14:32 (MSG)
The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down.
1 Peter 4:1 (LB)
Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power…
3. Invest genuine effort into correcting mistakes.
Matthew 26:75 (NJB)
…and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, ’Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Proverbs 28:13 (LB)
A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.
2 Corinthians 12:9,10 (NIV)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me…That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Romans 14:19 (NIV)
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Acts 2:22-24, 37 (NIV)
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him…When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
4. Take the lessons and use them as stepping stones.
1 Peter 1:24-25 (NIV)
For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
Jeremiah 12:16 (NCV)
I want them to learn their lessons well.
1 Peter 2:12 (NIV)
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
5. Have the courage to try again.
Acts 3:6 (NIV)
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV)
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
