After You've Failed

When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.
Luke 22:32

God can turn your failures into stepping stones to success. Look at Peter. Jesus told him, "Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32 ).
Notice:
(1) Christ warned him about it but He didn't stop it from happening. There are certain things we only learn the hard way.
(2) Jesus told Peter that he'd deny Him, not once, but three times. Most of us are stubborn; we don't get it the first time.
(3) Peter thought he was stronger than he was: "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death" (Luke 22:33 ). We usually start out with an exaggerated opinion of our own strength.
(4) Jesus told him, "I'm praying for you that your faith may not fail." Isn't that amazing? When we're so low that we can't pray for ourselves, Jesus handles the enemy and intercedes with the Father on our behalf. What did Jesus pray for? Peter's faith! Faith in God's grace is the rope that pulls us back up again.
(5) Jesus believed in Peter even when Peter didn't believe in himself. That's because we evaluate ourselves by our present circumstances, but Jesus sees us in the fullness of our potential. So He tells Peter, "When (not if) you get back on track, do something good with what's happened."

Now, if temporary failure happened to Peter, how much more likely is it to happen to you? And when it does, what do you suppose the Lord wants to accomplish through it?