WEEK FIVE: FAILURE
Sports is one of the most celebrated platforms in our society, but did you know that sports is one of the places where you can be considered an All-Star, All-Pro, even a Hall of Famer and still fail more times than you succeed? For instance, the average for scoring in the NFL is only 37.1%, just slightly more than 1 out of every 3 times they have the ball. The average batting average in MLB is .246 meaning that they only get a hit 1 out of 4 times at bat, and the average field goal percentage in the NBA is 45.6%. Michael Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all-time, won 6 NBA titles, was the Rookie of the Year in ‘84-‘85, was the league MVP 5 times, and runner-up 3 times more. He was an all-star 14 times, led the league in scoring 10 times, and in each of his championship seasons he was the Finals MVP. The list goes on and on. In that time, Michael took 24,537 shots; however, he made only 12,192 of them (which is still less than half his shots). So, what might have been the difference in Michael Jordan’s career had he lived focused on the regret of what he missed instead of the shots he made?
Listen, failure is not final. If it was, Peter would have been the epitome of failure. Could any failure have been any worse? Whether it was refusal to accept what was happening, dealing with an uncomfortable truth, or straight up fear for his own life, Peter’s denial of Jesus right before his crucifixion goes down as one of the greatest failures in all of history. Peter did exactly what Jesus said he would do, even after Peter publicly announced he wouldn’t do it. But that wasn’t the end of Peter’s story, and your failures are not the end of yours.
Peter meets Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus meets him right where he is. Jesus asks him three times if Peter loves him and three times Peter answers yes, but in the third answer Peter acknowledges that Jesus knows the deepest part of him. His hurt, broken, regretful, and unsure part of him. Then Jesus does something maybe unexpected: in essence, he says what could be interpreted as “okay Peter, let’s start right there then.”
Composer and actor Patrick Doyle once said, “failure or denial is the thing that keeps us stuck.” You see, when Jesus restores you, he doesn’t just forgive the past; he meets you right where you are and rewrites the future. Don’t be afraid, don’t hide or justify. Go to Jesus, sit with him, and let him restore you. Don’t disqualify yourself when Jesus hasn’t. What you are going through is preparation for what God has planned for your life. Now go live that life!