What Are You Doing Here? | The Ache of Failure | Jesus Looked

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter…and he went outside and wept bitterly.  Luke 22:61-62 

You knew it was wrong, but you got so caught up in the moment that you ignored your conscience. Those new airpods slid so easily from the store shelf into your pocket that no suspected. Your dating life turned sexual, but you kept justifying it. Or maybe your language started slipping and you never bothered to clean it up. After all, doesn’t everyone talk this way? That’s what happened to Peter. He’d been so confident that he would never deny the Lord—and then he did. Three times. Peter’s story might have ended there, but the Lord turned and looked straight at him. That look changed everything.

What does it feel like for Jesus to turn and look at us when we’ve failed? Those who don’t know Him well hardly notice. Others pretend they don’t see Him and continue digging a deeper pit. While another group insists He isn’t looking at them at all. But if we love Jesus, that look brings a flood of conviction, shame, and regret. We thought we were better, stronger, smarter than that, but the facts are telling a different story. We’ve disappointed Him and disappointed ourselves. That’s where Jesus’ look found Peter, and in that moment, Peter made a choice. Instead of denying or justifying his sin, he owned it. He agreed with the Lord about what he’d done. A sea-toughened fisherman broke down and wept when he realized how far he’d slipped. He grieved over it, repented of it, and then let God use it as a building block for future ministry.

Final Thought: Has Jesus turned and looked straight at you when you failed Him? What was your response?
Prayer: Jesus, I remember some times I’ve failed you and you turned and looked at me. It wasn’t judgment or condemnation.  It just let me know that you knew. Sometimes I ignored you and other times I denied it. From now on, I want to repent. Amen.