JOHN 21:1-3 – After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THE SCHOOL OF FAILURE. God has His “schools for discipleship” in which every child of His will be enrolled. And we don’t graduate until we get to heaven. Here are three that produce the good works of purging us from the world, slaying the sin of pride, and conforming us into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus; the schools of suffering, waiting, and failure. To get a good look at the “classroom” and instruction within it, watch the Old Testament saint, Job, in the school of suffering (Job 1-42); listen to David as he cries out of the depths of pain in the school of waiting (Psalm 130), and in today’s scripture, we find the Apostle Peter in the school of failure.
Here is the scene. It is between the great failure of Peter in his denial of the Lord and the breakfast of restoration with the Lord. Peter’s pain is real. Failure hurts, and it hurts so much more when we fail those we love, and Peter loved the Lord. But there is so much good in failure that Peter teaches us. Let’s consider two encouraging truths.
First, our failure does not define us before the Lord. Peter thought it did. He says to the other disciples, “I am going fishing.” Now Peter is not thinking about a relaxing night on the sea. Nor is he just killing time waiting on Jesus. What is behind his words is his failure. He basically says, “I failed Jesus miserably. He called me to be a fisher of men and I blew that. Well, I know in my natural strength and ability, I can go back to what I do succeed at – catching fish. But what does the scripture say – but that night they caught nothing? We may hear Jesus through this providential act of no fish, “No, Peter. You cannot go back. I called you to a new life and new task. Your failure will turn for your good.” And the same lesson applies to us. God will use our failures caused by self-confidence, self-deception, and pride for good after we are humbled in the school of failure.
There is another lesson we learn from Peter in the school of failure. It is about the love of God; the faithful love of God, the steadfast love of God, and the “I will never give up on you” love of God. Peter is convinced he is washed up. He is a complete disciple failure, yet, weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning. After the fishless night, dawn rose, and on the beach was Jesus cooking breakfast for His failed disciples. You know the story. Jesus does not do what we would likely have done. He doesn’t look at Peter and the others saying, “I told you so.” No, He restores Peter with love. He turns his broken heart of failure into a rejoicing heart of restoration. And He will do the same for us. Failure, if responded to properly, leads to renewed fellowship with the Lord and lessons learned that would not have happened without the failure.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your restoring and teaching love in my many failures.”
QUOTE: “Failure of the Lord doesn’t change our position in the Lord. It teaches us about the Lord.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim