March Madness | The Madness of Failure | Acknowledgement

Immediately the rooster crowed the second time…And Peter broke down and wept.  Mark 14:72

That moment when you’re caught. Time stands still and one sound freezes you in place. It might be prison bars clanging shut. It might sound like sirens, a phone call, or the scream of someone you betrayed. For Peter, it was the sound of a rooster crowing. He’d been caught by his own words. Jesus’ prediction echoed inside his head: “You’ll deny me…you’ll deny me…”  Grief and shame flooded over him and he raced out into the darkness, sobbing. He’d done what he thought he’d never do and now it was too late. He couldn’t take it back. He’d not only failed himself, his friends, and his Mentor, but he’d failed God.

Where were you when your failure caught up with you? Where are you now? Peter had committed the ultimate betrayal and he fully owned it. The sorrow and conviction of that moment were overwhelming, but he never denied what he’d done. We sometimes do. We blame someone else, pretend it was no big deal, or try to drown our shame in addictions. None of those erases the failure; they just dig a deeper hole. Peter had a future ahead as one of the greatest evangelists the world has ever known. But before He could become that man, Peter had to acknowledge what he’d done. He had to repent. No running, denying, or blaming someone else. He owned his failure and because he owned it, he positioned himself to move past it.

Final Thought:  Have you fully acknowledged your failures to the ones you’ve wronged? Confession is the first step to healing.

Prayer: Father, I confess to you the ways I’ve failed you and others. I’m ready to stop blaming and ignoring the wrong I’ve done. I own it and ask your forgiveness. Help me make it right with anyone I have wronged. In Jesus’ name, Amen.