Greg Laurie daily devotion - May. 12, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Spectacular Failure
Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
“Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.
—Matthew 14:28–29
If you have ever tried something for God and met with failure, here is what I want to say to you today: thank you. Thank you for trying. Failure is not always a bad thing, because failure will precede success. Failure can actually teach us success because we can learn from our mistakes.
It has been said that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. But let me restate that in a new way: If at first you don’t succeed, relax. You are just like the rest of us.
We beat ourselves up when we fail because we didn’t emerge with the greatest success of all time. But often it is through process of learning what not to do that we better learn what to do in the future.
In Matthew 14 we find the story of a failure, one of the most spectacular failures of all time. It is the story of Peter, who walked on the water with Jesus. It is also the story of his sinking after he walked on the water with Jesus.
But the fact is, the Bible tells us that Peter “went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus” (verse 29). That was a great moment, and whatever followed cannot undo it. We can find fault with Peter for a number of things, but no one else in the boat attempted to do what Peter did.
It is easy to sit like armchair quarterbacks and critique people who are out there leading, out there trying to make a difference. But we need to ask ourselves, “What have I done lately? Have I taken a risk for the kingdom of God?” I would far rather try and fail than never do anything at all.
Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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