“5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”
Luke 5:1-11

As we attempt to recover from failure, we need to allow Jesus into our boat, into our situation. We need to interact with Him and hear what He has to say.

The second step I would commend to you is this: On the heels of failure, let Jesus dictate your next steps.

Peter didn’t have an extended pity party about his failure. Oh, he may have been bummed. He was surely tired after fishing all night, but he didn’t let his failure or fatigue cause him to shut out Jesus’ voice. Jesus gave some orders. For lots of seasoned fishermen it would be tough to be told where to fish and how to go about doing it. It required some humility for Peter to listen to Jesus. Peter knew how to catch fish. He knew where to go. He knew the best methods. He knew the best time of day and the best spots, but instead of arguing or dismissing Jesus altogether, he complied with Jesus’ requests.  

It’s interesting to me that in verse 5, Peter called Jesus, “Master.”  In a moment of failure, he acknowledged Jesus as Master. Isn’t that a great time to acknowledge Jesus as Lord? Sometimes we have an easier time letting Jesus be Lord in our successes than we do allowing Him to be Lord in our failures.  

It was one thing to borrow Peter’s boat, but to ask Peter to go back out right on the heels of failure? That would be too difficult for many. I mean, when we experience failure we need time to eat our pint of ice cream, don’t we? We need some time to look for people to commiserate with, time to post something dreary on social media or at least time to binge watch a few Netflix shows before we are ready to try again. Like, sometimes we aren’t in the mood to get back on that horse, but Peter’s mood didn’t matter when the Master spoke.

There are times when we create more brokenness for ourselves by trying to lead ourselves out of our situation rather than listening to the voice of Jesus. What if Peter would have walked away from the One who could produce a miracle in his life right after his failure? Why would anyone walk away from or distance themselves from the One who can take brokenness and bless it, the One who can take messes and mistakes and turn them into miracles?  

Jesus will never lead us into failure. When He speaks, it is in our best interest to hear and obey what He says, no matter how much we think we know, no matter how much experience we have in some area. Failure can put us in a funk. It can cause us to put up walls and to give up. We have to exercise faith in the Lord. When you are a believer there is always a way up and a way out. Listen to the voice of the Master.  Let Him speak into your failure, and do what He tells you to do.

Part #3 of “Recovering From Failure” by Melissa Pratt is releasing July 5th