32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
You know my whole life I’ve been
reading this story about Peter trying to walk on water. For most of my
life I thought this was a story about Peter failing. I thought the main
point of the story was “keep your eyes on Jesus or you’ll sink." But
lately, I've been wondering, did Peter fail?
Well, I suppose in a way he did. His faith wasn’t strong enough, His doubts were stronger. “He saw the wind.” He took his eyes off of where they should have been; he sank; he failed.
But you know what I’m learning? I’m learning there are worse things in life than failure.
And not only that but I think there were eleven bigger failures sitting in the boat. They failed quietly; they failed privately. Their failure went unnoticed, unobserved, uncriticized. Only Peter knew the shame of public failure.
Well, I suppose in a way he did. His faith wasn’t strong enough, His doubts were stronger. “He saw the wind.” He took his eyes off of where they should have been; he sank; he failed.
But you know what I’m learning? I’m learning there are worse things in life than failure.
And not only that but I think there were eleven bigger failures sitting in the boat. They failed quietly; they failed privately. Their failure went unnoticed, unobserved, uncriticized. Only Peter knew the shame of public failure.
Failure does not shape you; the way you respond to failure shapes you.
The other 11 disciples understood the cost of getting out of the boat. They were very much aware of the pain of potential failure, embarrassment, inadequacy, criticism and perhaps even loss of life. But what they were not so aware of was another price - the cost of staying in the boat.
But only Peter knew two other things as well:
Only Peter knew the thrill of walking on the water. He
alone knew what it was to attempt to do what he was not capable of
doing on his own, then feeling the joy of being empowered by God to
actually do it! Once you walk on the water, you never forget it—not for
the rest of your life.
Only Peter knew the glory of being lifted up by Jesus in a moment of desperate need. Peter
knew, in a way the others could not, that when he sank, Jesus would be
wholly adequate to save him. He had a shared moment, a shared
connection, a shared trust in Jesus that none of the others had.
The worst failure is not to sink in the waves.
The worst failure is to never get out of the boat.
The worst failure is to never get out of the boat.
-Pete
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