God's View of Failure

     God seems to have a totally different view of failure than we do. He obviously doesn't fear failure in Himself, and He doesn't fear it in you and me, either. A couple of stories from the life of Simon Peter, an accomplished "failer," help us to see how God views failure.

     The first of Peter's failures I want to highlight is a story that may be familiar to you: Peter's bumpy walk on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. The story is found in Matthew 16:28-31 and it shows us Peter boldly asking Jesus to invite him to walk to Him then actually getting out of the boat when Jesus said, "Come!" But as you may know, Peter didn't make it out to where Jesus was before he started sinking and had to cry out to Jesus to save him. What's intriguing about the story is what Jesus did and didn't do. When Peter cried out for help, Jesus immediately reached out His hand and rescued Peter and apparently walked with Peter back to the boat. He didn't let Peter flounder in his failure or lecture him for a while before saving him, instead Jesus immediately came to Peter's rescue. Yes, He did ask Peter (perhaps even playfully), "O mini-faithed one, why did you doubt?" But that question came after the rescue, not in order for the rescue to take place. (Think about it).

     This story reveals a very important truth about God's view of failure and our response to our own failures. Andrew Murray put his finger on this many years ago in his book, The Deeper Christian Walk. Consider his words below.
     Someone may say, “I have been trying, to say, ‘Lord, I will live it;’ but, tell me, suppose failure come, what then?” Learn from Peter what you ought to do. What did Peter do? The very opposite of what most do. What did he do when he began to sink? That very moment, without one word of self-reproach or self-condemnation, he cried, “Lord, help me!” I wish I could teach every Christian that. I remember the time in my spiritual life when that became clear to me; for up to that time, when I failed, my only thought was to reproach and condemn myself, and I thought that would do me good. I found it didn’t do me good; and I learn from Peter that my work is, the very moment I fail, to say, “Jesus, Master, help me!” and the very moment I say that, Jesus does help me. Remember, failure is not an impossibility!...Jesus is always ready to hear, and the very moment you find there is the lost temper, the hasty word, or some other wrong, at once the living Jesus is near, so gracious, and so mighty. Appeal to Him and there will be help at once. If you learn to do this, Jesus will lift you up and lead you on to a walk where His strength shall secure you from failure.

     Parts of the my second story about Peter's failure are well known (Peter's three time denial of Jesus), but I want to focus on a less well known part of that story found in Luke 22:31-34. 31 “Simon, Simon! Satan has asked to sift you disciples like wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon. I have prayed that your faith will not fail. When you have turned back, help your brothers to be strong.” 33 But Simon replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” 34Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, you will say three times that you don’t know me. And you will do it before the rooster crows today.” (NIRV)

     Several things about failure really stand out to me in this story. First, Jesus was fully aware of the impending failure of all of His disciples (due to Satan's sifting), including Simon, and He prepared them for this by warning them ahead of time and by praying for Simon in particular. Wow! Did you catch that? Jesus is anticipating failure and praying about it before it happens. (He is constantly praying for you and me, too! See Romans 8:34). Second, Jesus seems to view failure in a different way than we do. He prayed for Simon's faith not to fail, but Peter's faith did fail at least for a while during the three denials, so what's up with that? My guess is that Jesus views faith as a process--with bumps and temporary failures along the way as part of the package. In other words, He looks at the entire picture and not just the occasional failures along the way. I wonder if He really views our failures this way. (I think He does!). Finally, Jesus is so unafraid of Simon's failure that in predicting it He calls Simon by the name He gave him (Rock)! This is huge to me. Even as He predicts Simon's failure, Jesus is saying, "But you are still a Rock (Peter) in my view!" I wonder if that's how He views us (as He is making us)? (I think He does).

     This is all very precious to me right now. I failed miserably the other day by losing my temper while driving in a snow storm. Jettie had to listen to me have a melt down that culminated in me suggesting things about another driver's ancestry. (I will leave you to fill in the gaps on this). This is terribly out of character for me (thankfully), but I was appalled that I allowed fear to make me so vulnerable to anger.

    But it's what Papa said about it the next day that blows me away and also confirms that He views failure in a very different way from how I tend to view it. I paste below what I sensed were His words to me.

     "I am not disappointed in you but rather I feel your fears and like any good father, am grieved because of that which assaults you. Don’t be afraid, little one. I am holding onto you and your beloved, and I will continue to hold on. Whenever your foot is slipping, my love will surely support you. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, I will be there in the midst of your pain and fear, holding onto you more tightly than you can imagine."

     I was so undone by these words. Instead of God judging me during my anxious and angry moments, He was feeling the pain and assault on me that brought me to that point, and He was in the midst of my failure even as it was happening. Yes, God's view of failure is very different from ours. And I am so thankful!

Tom, one of Abba's children