When Failure Feels Final
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:15-17 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
After the miraculous catch, the disciples come to shore and find Jesus waiting with a fire and a meal. It is a quiet, gracious moment. But beneath the surface, there is unresolved tension, especially for Peter.
The last time Peter stood near a fire, he denied Jesus three times. Now, Jesus brings Peter back to a similar setting. This is not to shame him, but to restore him.
Three times Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” Each question corresponds to one of Peter’s denials. But Jesus does not ask Peter to explain his failure. He does not demand an apology speech. He simply draws Peter back to the core of the relationship.
“Do you love me?”
That question goes deeper than behavior. It goes to the heart.
Peter responds each time, and each time Jesus gives him a calling. “Feed my sheep.” In other words, Jesus is not only forgiving Peter, he is reinstating him.
Jesus wanted Peter to understand his death was for him. He wants Peter to grasp this truth, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) He wanted Peter to experience Psalm 103:12, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
We often believe that our worst moments define us. We carry them quietly, assuming they disqualify us from being used by God. But Jesus does not define Peter by his denial. He restores him through it.
Failure is real, but it is not final. In the hands of Jesus, it becomes a place of transformation.
The same is true for us. The areas where we feel most ashamed are often the areas where Jesus wants to meet us most personally. He does not avoid them. He redeems them. He assures us we are fully forgiven and then commissions us to feed this same Gospel truth to the sheep and lamps around us!
Reflect: What failure do you tend to believe defines you?
How would your life change if you truly believed Jesus has restored you?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that my failures do not have the final word. You see me fully and still call me your own. Restore what has been broken in me and help me to live in the freedom of your grace. Amen.
When Jesus Shows Up Unnoticed
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Early in the morning, Jesus stands on the shore, but the disciples do not recognize Him. That detail is both surprising and deeply relatable. Jesus is present, yet unrecognized. He is near, yet unnoticed.
The disciples are doing what they know how to do. They are working, thinking, moving through the motions of life. It is in that ordinary moment that Jesus appears. He does not interrupt with spectacle. He simply stands there and speaks into their situation.
This is not the only time this happens. In Luke 24:16, the disciples on the road to Emmaus walk with the risen Jesus and still do not realize who He is. It reminds us that the issue is not always Jesus’ absence. Often, it is our awareness.
Jesus asks a simple question. “Have you caught any fish?” It is a question that invites honesty. It is also a question that exposes their emptiness. Then He gives a simple instruction. “Throw your net on the right side of the boat.” When they obey, everything changes.
There are moments in life when we are waiting for God to show up in dramatic ways, but He is already present in the ordinary. He speaks through Scripture, through a quiet conviction, through a timely word from someone else, or even through circumstances that do not make sense at first.
Consider how often we move through our days assuming God is distant, when in reality He is already at work. He may be inviting us to trust Him, to take a step of obedience, or to see something differently.
Recognition often comes after obedience. The disciples act on His word, and then their eyes begin to open.
Jesus is closer than we think. The question may be, are we paying attention!
Reflect:
Where might Jesus already be at work in your life that you have not recognized?
What small step of faith might He be inviting you to take today?
Prayer:
Jesus, open my eyes to see you in the ordinary moments of my life. Help me to hear your voice and trust your leading, even when I do not fully understand. Give me a heart that responds in faith so that I may recognize your presence more clearly. Amen.
When You Drift…
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:1-3 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Peter’s words are simple. “I’m going fishing.” It sounds harmless, even practical. But beneath the surface, something deeper is happening. Peter is returning to what he knows, to what feels familiar, to what existed before Jesus called him. Perhaps it would be harsh to say this is open rebellion, but perhaps it would be accurate to say it is a quiet retreat.
Drifting rarely feels dramatic. It often feels reasonable. Life becomes heavy or confusing, and instead of pressing forward in faith, we slip back into what is comfortable. Old habits. Old mindsets. Old identities. The calling of Jesus still lingers, but it feels distant compared to what we can control. It feels uncomfortable and uncertain compared to what is familiar and comfortable.
The disciples follow Peter, and together they fish through the night. Yet they catch nothing. Bad luck? Or does the emptiness of their nets mirror the emptiness of returning to life apart from the clarity of Christ’s call. Maybe. The drift is not always obvious. It is subtle and it is a picture of what Hebrews 2:1 says, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
What is striking is not just that Peter drifts, but that Jesus does not let the story end there. Before Peter makes his way back, Jesus is already moving toward him. The drift may feel like distance, but it is not the end of the relationship.
We often assume that drifting disqualifies us. We tell ourselves that we should have known better or done better. But this moment reminds us that drifting is not the same as being abandoned. The call of Jesus still stands, even when we drift away from it.
Take a moment to consider where you tend to drift when life becomes uncertain. It may not look like running from God, but it might look like neglecting time with Him, relying on your own strength, or retreating into distractions. The question is not whether drift happens. The question is whether we will recognize it and turn back.
Jesus does not begin this story by confronting Peter. He begins by showing up. John 21:4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.” That is where hope begins for us as well. Jesus shows up in our drift.
Reflect:
Where do you tend to drift when life feels uncertain or heavy?
What is one step you can take today to turn your attention back toward Jesus?
Prayer:
Lord, you see the quiet ways I drift. You know the places I return to when I feel uncertain or weary. Thank you that you do not leave me there. Draw my heart back to you. Help me to recognize your presence and respond to your call. Amen.
He Sends You Back with Purpose
Devotions this week are based on Week 2 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
Luke 24:32–35 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
After recognizing Jesus, everything changes. The disciples do not stay where they are. They get up that very hour and return to Jerusalem. The same road they walked in discouragement, they now walk with urgency and purpose.
Their hearts are burning within them. What once felt confusing now carries meaning. What once felt like an ending has become a beginning.
This is what happens when Jesus reassures us. He does not only comfort us for our own sake. He sends us back into the world with a story to tell. The disciples return to community and share what they have experienced. In doing so, they find that others have also encountered the risen Lord.
There is a powerful truth here. Faith is strengthened in community. When we share what God has done, we encourage others and are encouraged in return. “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
An encouragement might be someone who has walked through a difficult season and come out on the other side. When they share their story, it brings hope to others who are still in the middle of their struggle. The story becomes a bridge for others to see God’s faithfulness.
The same is true for you. You do not need to have all the answers. You simply need to share where you have seen Jesus at work. Even if your understanding is still growing, your experience can point others to Him.
Today, consider where God might be sending you. It could be a conversation with a friend, a moment to listen to someone else’s struggle, or an opportunity to share your story. The road you have walked may become the path that leads someone else to hope.
Reflect:
- Where might God be inviting you to share your story this week?
- How has your own experience of God’s presence shaped what you can offer to others?
Prayer: Lord, thank You for meeting me in my confusion and giving me hope. Help me to share what You have done in my life with others. Use my story to point people to You and to bring encouragement to those who need it. Amen.
He Reveals Himself in the Ordinary
Devotions this week are based on Week 2 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
Luke 24:28–31 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
As the day comes to an end, the disciples urge Jesus to stay with them. At the table, He takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and begins to give it to them. In that familiar action, their eyes are opened. Suddenly, they recognize Him.
It is striking that Jesus reveals Himself not through something dramatic or unexpected, but through something familiar. The breaking of bread would have reminded them of earlier moments with Him. In that ordinary act, recognition comes.
God often works this way. We tend to look for Him in the extraordinary, in the big and unmistakable moments. But frequently, He makes Himself known through ordinary means. Through His Word. Through worship. Through the rhythms of the church. Through the quiet moments of daily life.
This is especially seen in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus gives us the tangible gift of His presence and real application of His promise. “Given…shed…for the forgiveness of sins. … Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). It is a simple act, yet filled with profound reassurance. God uses familiar rhythms to remind us of His nearness
The disciples realize that Jesus had been with them all along. Their recognition does not create His presence; it reveals it. The same is true for us. God is often at work in ways we do not immediately see, but over time, He brings moments of clarity.
Today, do not overlook the ordinary ways God is present. Pay attention to the moments where His Word speaks to you, where worship stirs your heart, where a familiar truth takes on new meaning.
Reflect:
- Where have you seen God at work in ordinary or familiar ways recently?
- How can you become more attentive to those moments?
Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to see You in the ordinary moments of my life. Help me not to overlook the ways You reveal Yourself through Your Word and through daily rhythms. Give me a heart that recognizes Your presence. Amen.