Day 17: January 21, 2026

Hope After Failure

Devotional: 

“Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

Luke 22:61-61 (HCSB)

Peter felt the pain of regret immediately after denying Jesus three times. When Jesus first told Peter that he would deny Him, Peter couldn’t imagine it. None of us ever imagine we will make the mistakes or experience the failures we do. No one sets out to live with regret.

Regret is the disappointment we feel over what has happened. We regret poor choices we made, words we’ve spoken, hasty decisions, indulgences, and the way we handled relationships or opportunities. Regret reminds us that something mattered, and that it didn’t turn out the way we hoped.

Regret can also come from what didn’t happen. You may feel like years were spent on something that yielded little fruit. You may wonder what could have been. Scripture reminds us that God can restore the years the locust has eaten, but restoration often begins with honesty. It’s important to sit with the emotions failure brings (disappointment, loss, grief, etc. ) without allowing those feelings to control you. Acknowledge what hurt. Grieve what didn’t happen. But don’t camp there. Failure only becomes destructive when we allow it to define us instead of refine us.

After his failure, Peter returned to what was familiar, fishing. Yet something was missing. The call of Jesus still burned within him. Failure had not erased his calling. Don’t allow failure to cause you to regress into what is comfortable when God is still calling you forward.

This is why fasting and prayer matter in moments of failure. They create space for restoration. Later, Jesus gave Peter three opportunities to declare his love. Jesus didn’t shame Peter. He strengthened him. And that strength prepared Peter for the ministry ahead.

Reflect

How have I responded to failures in the past? How might God want to use that awareness to shape my future?

One Step Forward

Bring one regret honestly before God today. Ask Him what He wants to restore, refine, or redeem through it.