THURSDAY 4.6.23: Learning from Failure – Luke 22:31-62
“Lord,” Peter said defiantly, “I’m ready to go with you, both to prison and to death!” Little did he know that he wasn’t at all “ready” for that. Jesus knew him better than he knew himself. After Jesus’ arrest,
Peter heatedly denied three times having been with Jesus. Then a rooster crowed, Jesus looked at him, and Peter “went out and cried uncontrollably.”
Reflection
• Of the disciples, only Peter walked on water (Matthew 14:28-29). He was first to flatly call Jesus the Messiah (Luke 9:18-20). He was no villain—just a man subject to fear and pressure. Have you
ever felt pressure to hide your loyalty to Jesus? Jesus told those who seized him, “This is your time, when darkness rules.” What might Peter have done to keep the darkness at bay (cf. 22:46)?
• Pastor Adam Hamilton notes in his book, 24 Hours that Changed the World, that all four gospels tell of Peter’s humiliating failure. Yet when Luke andthe others wrote, Peter had been a brave church leader Rome martyred around 64-65 A.D. Peter probably openly told about his failure, and the forgiveness and hope he found in its wake.1 When have you grown through facing a failure openly and learning from it by God’s grace?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, like Peter, I keep finding a need to grow even in areas I thought I was done with. Thank you for your ongoing grace, for urging me to grow even when I’m comfortable. Amen.
1Hamilton, Adam. 24 Hours That Changed the World – (p. 58). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.