Struck Down, But Not Destroyed

What failure broke, grace rebuilt.

I’ve failed at a lot of things.
I’ve failed as a friend. I wasn’t there when I should have been.
I’ve failed as a husband. I let stress or selfishness speak louder than love.
I’ve failed as a father. I’ve reacted too harshly or gone quiet when I should have leaned in.
I’ve failed as a preacher. Missed opportunities. Clumsy words. Pride. Fear.
I’ve failed as a teacher and as an elder. I thought I had wisdom but didn’t have love.
The list could go on.

Some of those failures still hurt. Some leave me wishing I could go back and undo what I said or what I didn’t say. But I’ve learned something in those moments. Not instantly, and not easily. But it’s this: failure, when I let it teach me, has often been the beginning of something better.

Here’s the truth I wish I’d known earlier:

The first failure wrecks you. But not trying again?
That’s what destroys you. It turns failure from a bruise into a slow death.

Paul knew that kind of wreckage. In 2 Corinthians 1:8–9, he wrote, “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” His breaking point didn’t crush his faith. It clarified it. It turned him back to God.

Peter’s story carries the same truth. Bold. Devoted. Confident. Until the pressure came. When the rooster crowed, Peter’s failure was undeniable. “And he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). But Jesus didn’t leave him there. In John 21, Jesus restores him. Not by pretending the failure didn’t happen but by walking through it with him. “Do you love me?” Three times. One for each denial. That’s grace at work. And on the other side of that grace, Peter found strength he never had before.

Failure didn’t end Peter’s story. It reframed it.

That’s what I’ve seen in my own life. My deepest regrets have often been the soil where God grew something surprising. Some of the most powerful sermons I’ve preached came after the ones that fell flat. The most meaningful conversations I’ve had with my kids or my wife came on the heels of moments I mishandled.

We live in a world obsessed with success. But Scripture keeps pointing us to the God who works through weakness. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The cross looked like failure. The tomb looked like the end. But Sunday morning changed everything.

So maybe you’re standing in the aftermath of something that didn’t work. Maybe you’re carrying the weight of what you should have done or what you wish you could take back.

Hear this. 

God is not finished with you. That failure is not your name.
There’s grace for the bruised. There’s strength for those who rise again.
Because resurrection is not just an event. It is a way God works. Still.

“The most important step a man can take. It’s not the first one, is it? It’s the next one. Always the next step.” ~Dalinar Kholin, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

So get up. Again.

‌‌‌‌~PW 🌮🛶‌