This morning, I’m going to use something that my wife wrote five years ago. It was a very tough season for our family. But God got us through. I’m gonna put all of her words in quotes. “Failure is Not Final was one of my daily devotionals earlier this week. The title has really held onto my heart for many reasons. Which made me think of one of my favorite bible stories which is Peter and Judas. They both sat directly beside Jesus and watched him perform all the miracles. But when their time came to stand up for Jesus they both betrayed him. They knew His heart. They knew He did not deserve the betrayal. Yet they put themselves first. I can’t imagine the pain they felt after watching Him being crucified knowing they did nothing to stop it. They both failed Jesus in his final moments.
This is the crossroads of the story that I love. When we fail in life, which path are we going to choose? Do we view that failure as final? Judas did and chose to hang himself over his betrayal to Jesus. Peter, who did the same betrayal, chose to be changed by God. Andy Turner said it best years ago. There is only 1 letter different in their outcome when looking at the words HANGED or CHANGED, “C”. And that C stands for Christ. He’s willing to step in and provide grace. We can’t earn it, it’s just there waiting for us.
I love that God shows us in this story, that our Failures don’t have to be Final. They are painful. Full of consequences. Heart breaking. But…never Final if we turn those failures over to God. He can heal and wipe our hearts clean if we just place it all at his feet. Some of us are fortunate to keep hidden our failures behind closed doors. And some get to live them out in front of the world. Facebook can be an amazing blessing or used as a weapon. I challenge each of you. If you know someone who’s failing, reach out to them. God’s grace is given to them the same as you. Choose to be God’s servant in their lives.”
