If I were to ask, “Name a great baseball player,” Who would you name? You might say Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose, Hank Aaron, or you might say Babe Ruth. Most of know Babe Ruth as the guy who hit 714 home runs, the home run king. For many years Babe Ruth held the record until Hank Aaron broke it several years ago. Most of us would say that Babe Ruth is a great baseball player. Do you realize that Babe Ruth struck out 1330 times? Babe Ruth failed many times, but Babe Ruth was not a failure!
If I were to ask you to name for me a great football player, a great NFL quarterback, you might say Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, you might even say Terry Bradshaw. Terry Bradshaw led his team to four Super Bowls. Yet, do you realize that Terry Bradshaw threw more incomplete passes than 99.9% of the players who ever played the game? Terry Bradshaw failed, but Terry Bradshaw was not a failure!
If I were to ask you to name for me a great President, you might say George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, you might say Abraham Lincoln. I think most of us would say Abraham Lincoln was a great President. And yet do you realize that he lost eight elections. He failed in business twice and he had a nervous breakdown. Abraham Lincoln failed, but Abraham Lincoln was not a failure!
Most are familiar that Simon Peter failed Jesus. He denied three times that he knew Him. You can read this story in Mark 14:66-72. It is not Peter’s weakness that helps us most. Rather, what happened later becomes our source of hope. Peter’s repentance and the Lord’s restoration of him give us confidence that God can handle our failure.
Your failure doesn’t need to define you. Just because you have failed does not make you a failure. In Peter’s story of failure and restoration I found five principles…
1. Everybody Fails.
We learn something here. Great people fail. Peter was an original disciple of Jesus and He failed. Just because you fail at one thing does not make you a failure. Peter broke down and wept. He realized what he did was wrong and acknowledged it. Great people admit their failures.
2. God is not dependent on your success.
Jesus predicted Peter’s failure. And God knew you would fail before you failed. He still loves you and has a plan for you. No matter what sin you have done, Jesus died for you and still loves you. The story of Christianity is the story of failed people who find new futures. It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus.
3. God gives second chances.
Few of us get repeated opportunities, as Peter did, to profess or reject our allegiance to Christ. But today, God is giving you a second chance. Take advantage of your failure. Don’t waste it. God will go to great lengths to help you, but He will do nothing for you if you just lie there. If you accept your failure as final, then you’re finally a failure. Failing does not make you a failure; quitting does. Get up and try again. Next time, with God’s help, you’ll make it!
4. Failure reveals weakness.
Peter found it easy to be self-dependent. No disciple speaks as often as Peter. No disciple was reproved like Peter was, and he is the only disciple who thought he could reprove the Lord! He was impulsive. He had the great natural disadvantage of being the kind of person who always did it for himself somehow. When he became a follower of Christ, he naturally carried that style right into his service. He had the strength and will. Whatever the cost, Peter would follow Jesus. But no one is successful in following Jesus by His own strength. and Peter had to come face-to-face with his weakness so Christ could work through Him. Your failure will often reveal your weakness. In the long run, that is a wonderful thing.
5. With every failure is a lesson learned.
Learn all you can from your failure. Every bitter experience can teach us something – about ourselves, about our friends, about God. We must never use failure as an excuse for quitting. God was not through with Peter. The best part of Peter’s story is not written (Mark 16:7). After His resurrection, Jesus had a private meeting with Peter (Luke 24:34); then Jesus helped Peter make a public confession when He met the disciples in Galilee (John 21). If you can learn a lesson from your failure, it will be a successful failure.
You can read some of my other articles about failure: Why People Fail, Power Failure, 4 Lessons Learned in the Temptation of Jesus.