“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.”—Luke 5:1
Every person has experienced failure at some point in life — maybe personally, professionally or morally. Some people’s failures are bigger, even more public, than others’. We all fail sooner or later, and if we are honest, we all fail over and over again.
Failure doesn’t mean you have blown everything; it means you have some hard lessons to learn. It doesn’t mean you are a permanent loser; it means you aren’t as smart as you thought you were. It doesn’t mean you should give up, nor does it mean God has abandoned you; it means you need God to show you the next step and a better plan.
This is how Peter felt in Luke’s gospel. There are two parts to Peter’s recovered failure. First, Jesus challenged Peter to put his net on the other side of the boat after he and the fishermen had been fishing all day and all night and caught nothing. Immediately, they obeyed Jesus and the net was filled to overflow. Secondly, Jesus restored Peter by forgiving him of his three-fold denial. Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter’s third response was “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.”
Just like Peter, we face failures every day. But the only time we don’t want to fail -— is the last time we try. There are three things to keep in mind when dealing with recovered failure:
Honestly face defeat; never fake success.
Exploit the failure; don’t waste it. Learn all you can from it; every bitter experience can teach us something.
Never use failure as an excuse for not trying again.
Overcoming failure is all about finding it in yourself to start again. It may be the failure of a project or a relationship, an addiction or an illness in your life that overwhelms you. But if you acknowledge your disappointment and accept your mistakes, you will be able to move toward recovered failure.
Never stop learning, never stop doing what you love, never give up on your passion and, most of all, never give up on yourself — for you are just one step closer to recovered failure!
Rev. Marion J. Miller is the senior pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church, 1201 Thomas V. Bryant Drive, Jeffersonville, Indiana. She can be contacted at (812) 283-3747 or via email at wesley1201@sbcglobal.net.
