A few hours earlier, Peter had made a promise. “Even if everyone else abandons You, I won't.” And he meant it.

Peter had followed Jesus for years. He had left his old life behind for Him. He was one of Jesus' closest disciples and the one who had boldly declared, “You are the Messiah.”

So when Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed he would deny Him three times, Peter couldn't imagine himself doing that to Jesus.

But then Jesus was arrested. That night, some people recognized Peter and asking if he was one of Jesus' disciples. Three times, Peter said no. Then the rooster crowed.

Luke tells us in Luke 22:61, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” Peter remembered what Jesus had said earlier. He went outside and wept bitterly.

Maybe you've had your own version of that moment. You knew better. You love God. Maybe you even promised Him you wouldn't do it again. And then you did.

But there was something Peter probably wasn't thinking about while he was crying that night. Jesus had already told him what would happen after his failure.

Peter didn’t believe what he did that night. But it wasn’t a surprise to Jesus. Jesus already told Peter, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22:34)

I think we sometimes forget this when we're ashamed of something we've done. We imagine God looking at us the way someone would look at us after we've done something that disappointed them.

But nothing about that night changed what Jesus already knew about Peter. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him. He knew Peter would be afraid. He knew exactly how badly Peter would get it wrong.

Yet after it happened, Jesus didn't treat Peter like someone He no longer wanted.

In fact, one of the most beautiful parts of Peter's story happened after his failure.

After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter and some of the other disciples went fishing. Early one morning, they saw Jesus standing on the shore.

As soon as Peter realized it was Him, he jumped into the water and went to Jesus. I love that Peter didn't stay in the boat.

He could have let shame make him hide from Jesus. After all, he was one of the three disciples Jesus was closest to, and yet, before the crucifixion, he had denied knowing Him three times.

But Peter went to Him.

Later, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” And after Peter answered, Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15)

Jesus knew what Peter had done. But He was still giving Peter something really important to do. Peter had failed Jesus badly, but Jesus wasn't finished with Peter.

And maybe that's something you need to hear too.

Sometimes after we sin, we do the opposite of what Peter did. We stay away.

We stop praying because we feel ashamed. We avoid our Bible because we know we haven't been living the way we should. We tell ourselves we'll go back to God when we've prayed enough, behaved better or somehow made up for what we did.

But you don't have to clean yourself up before you can go back to God.

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

So go back.

Tell God what you've done. Be honest about it. Ask for His forgiveness and His help to change. If you've hurt someone, apologize or make things right where you can. And if you keep going back to the same sin, don't only promise yourself that this time will be different. Think about what keeps leading you back there and what you can change.

You may need to remove something from your life. You may need to put some boundaries in place. You may need to talk to someone who can help instead of fighting it alone.

Feeling guilty about yesterday won't change tomorrow. But what you do next can.

Peter couldn't undo what happened that night.

He couldn't take back the three times he denied Jesus. But that wasn't where Peter's story ended. Peter came back. Jesus restored him. And the man who once denied knowing Jesus went on to spend his life telling people about Him.

Maybe you've made a mistake you wish you could take back. Maybe you've made the same one more times than you care to admit.

Jesus already knows.

He knew Peter would deny Him before Peter did it. And He already knew the sins you would struggle with too. Long before you were born, Jesus went to the cross and paid the price for sins you hadn't even committed yet.

You may have failed God. But you can still go back to Him.

Don't spend another day hiding from the One who already knows what you've done.

✝ Kingdom Mantra

Is there something you've been struggling with that has made you feel distant from God? You don't have to share the details if you’re not comfortable with that. But if you'd like someone to pray with you, I'd love to hear from you. God bless you and do have a pleasant weekend. ❤️