Matthew 26:31-35 and 69-75 “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples….69Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.”
Peter denied Christ three times, and yet he became a good servant of the Lord. The fact that we fail once, twice, three times, or more, does not mean that we will have no more opportunity to serve the Lord. All of the great men in the Bible were failures at some point. Noah got drunk. Moses lost his temper. David committed adultery and murder. The disciples of Jesus lacked faith at various times. And yet, these men were great men because they recovered from their failings and went on to do good things for the Lord. Our God is a forgiving God, and He is the God of another opportunity. When you are running the race and you fall, don’t quit. Get up, dust yourself off, ask God to forgive you, and start running again. You may not finish in first place, but you can finish your course.