Daily
Devotional

On my brother’s sixteenth birthday, he was so excited. He had big plans to go to the DMV and get his driver’s license as soon as school was over, and then later on our family would go to one of his favorite places for dinner and watch a movie that he had been anticipating for months. It sounded like a great plan, right? It would have been, if things had gone as he had hoped. But he failed the driver’s test, which put a damper on the rest of the evening’s events. Every time someone would excitedly ask, “Did you get it?” his silent response told the story.

Of course, my brother’s experience with driving did not end there. He knew that whatever had caused him to fail—perhaps a lack of experience, an overlooked law in the driver’s manual, or something else—was something that could be fixed, so with more preparation he could pass. He retook the test a little later and did just that. Now he drives around like a pro, and the disappointment of failing is only a memory.

In our spiritual walk, we also will be tested. We will face moments when we must choose between obedience to God or giving in to a temptation to sin. And even though God has given us the ability and opportunity to pass these tests, it is still possible to fail because we have a free will. However, it would be a grave mistake to let this type of failure be the end of our relationship with God.

The Bible gives some examples of people who made a comeback after failure. At the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said to His disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of me.” Peter argued, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” But Jesus told him, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” Peter ended the conversation saying, “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee” (Matthew 26:31,33-35).

That night, Peter was standing by the fire warming himself when a maid walked over to him. She said she had seen him with Jesus; he denied it. Three times he denied his Friend. Then he heard the cock crow, and he remembered what Jesus had said. The Bible says that he “wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75).

Though not perfect, Peter was quick to correct his mistake and get back on track, and this, in the end, turned out to be more important than his failure. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter was with the 120 who followed Jesus’ command to tarry in Jerusalem for the enduement of power. When observers questioned what had happened, Peter had boldness to proclaim the truth, and three thousand souls turned to the Lord! This was the same man who had denied Jesus.

If you have failed God, you can make a comeback too. You can return to Jesus. Whatever caused the failure is something that can be fixed, but it will take some work. It starts with repentance and asking God’s forgiveness, and then seeking ways to grow stronger in Him so that when the next test comes, you can pass with God’s help. He is standing with outstretched arms.