From Failure to Restoration

You are listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1513. Today's Devo is called From Failure to Restoration. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Hello, everyone, My name is Lauren Alessi and I am your host for this week. We are talking about all types of characters from the Bible. We talked on Thomas yesterday. We spoke on Mary Magdalene on Monday, and today we are talking about Peter and we are talking about these people in the Bible and seeing the direct impact of Jesus and how basically just the impact Jesus had on their lives and how we can relate to them personally. So today we're talking about Peter. Peter's a very interesting person and I feel like a lot of us can relate to Peter. So a little bit of context before we dive in. This is like, once Jesus again has risen from the dead, he's come back, he's resurrected, and now he's speaking to his disciples. And I want to say, if I'm remembering correctly, this is after he's appeared to them. Now they've actually gone. They've like gone fishing, they're gonna have breakfast. And this is like one of the last conversations Peter and Jesus have together. So this is like Jesus and Peter, like, they're good. Like he's resurrected. I'm good. I'm alive. Awesome. So they're like buddies now. But. But before this, let us not forget that Jesus warned Peter, hey, the night that I die, you are going to deny me three times. And Peter's like, I would never. And he's like, but you will. And literally hours after that, Peter denies him three times. So Peter is like, you know, human, probably. We could judge him for it, but who's to say we wouldn't do the same, unfortunately, because we are all human. So anyways, we are picking up after Jesus, after Peter denies Jesus three times, after Jesus has reappeared, to the disciples, they realize, wow, Jesus has resurrected. And now this is one of the last conversations Jesus and Peter have. And I've actually spoken from this verse before, and it's one of my favorites. It gets me emotional every time. And we're talking out of John 21, verse 17. And it says this, it says the third time because Jesus has already said this to Peter, over and over again he goes, peter, do you love me? Yes, Lord, I love you. Peter, do you really love me? Lord, you know that I love you. And then the third time, he said to him, simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter said, lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Then Jesus said, feed my sheep. Peter had denied Jesus three times the night of his arrest. And the shame of that failure could have defined the rest of his life. But Jesus's resurrection created a space for restoration in Peter. Just because Peter had denied Jesus three times doesn't mean Jesus was creating a space where he says, oh, really? You love me? Okay, well, how about the other night where you denied me three times? You know, that's probably what I would have done. Just because Thomas doubted Jesus doesn't mean Thomas didn't make an amazing apostle as soon as Jesus transfixed into the heavens. What this shows us is that we can fail over and over again in life. That doesn't mean the Lord can't restore something. After Jesus raised from the dead, Jesus personally restored Peter. And instead of reminding him of his failure, Jesus recommissioned him with a purpose. And that purpose was ministry. And Peter was an amazing apostle and an amazing minister. So the resurrection is evidence that our worst mistakes are not meant to be the end of our story. So here's what I want to ask you. What is the enemy trying to constantly remind you? That that is your worst mistake and you can never come back from it. That that is a mistake and it can never be restored. Is it your family? Is it your marriage? Is it your past? Is it past decisions? Is there a failure that you feel God cannot redeem? And if you're thinking about something right now, just give that up to the Lord. Because just like Peter, even though he made a mistake and he denied Jesus three times the night Jesus died, this conversation, the last conversation Peter and Jesus are not. Are having, is not Jesus going, peter, do you love me? Do you really love me? Because the other night you denied me. Maybe because Jesus isn't a woman like me, because that's what I would have done. But Jesus is going, do you love me? And Peter's going, yes, Lord, I love you. Do you really love me? You. Yes. Okay, if you love me, feed my sheep. Do things for others. Follow out my ministry. Do it for me. Do unto others what you would do for me. He's not bringing up the past. He's bringing up the future. He's bringing up what he knows Peter is capable of. So if you feel like there's a failure God can't redeem. Just know this. Just like Jesus can redeem Peter, God can redeem your past. And God wants to redeem it for a better future. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you so much for the story of Peter and just his brutal honesty. God, we gotta hand it to him. He just. He is. And he was who he was, God. And because of that, we can relate to him. We can learn from him. God. And Lord, for every person under the sound of my voice, whatever failure they feel like, you can't redeem. First of all, we just rebuke that in the name of Jesus. You are God of all. You are capable of everything, Lord. And you can redeem any failure God. So Lord, help us surrender that failure to you and see it turn to restoration. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.