Failure Is Not Fatal
Volume 3, Day 98
Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew how to bolster the spirits of the British people during World War II. On 18 June 1940, he told the frightened people, “Hitler knows that he will have to break us . . . or lose the war. . . . Let us therefore brace . . . and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire [lasts] for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour!’ ”
We would all like to be remembered for our “finest hour”. Perhaps the apostle Peter’s finest hour was when he proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69). Sometimes, however, we let our failures define us. After Peter repeatedly denied that he knew Jesus, he went out and wept bitterly (Matt. 26:75; John 18).
Like Peter, we all fall short—in our relationships, in our struggle with sin, in our obedience to God. But “failure is not fatal”, as Churchill also said. Thankfully, this is true in our spiritual life. Jesus forgave Peter for his failure when he said sorry (John 21), and used him to preach and lead many to the Saviour.
Failure is not fatal. God always forgives those who turn back to Him.
Author
Cindy Hess Kasper
