FAILURE ISN'T FINAL

Failure Isn’t Final 

by Susan Barnes

And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man's ear and healed him. Luke 22:50-51 NIV

With God failure isn't final and many have referred to him as, “The God of the Second Chance.” But God gives us many more than just two chances. In 2 Chronicles 36:15 we read, “The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.” God sent messengers again and again because of his compassion.

Our mistakes do not signal an end to God's dealings with us. He does not cast us aside when we err, but rather he will use our mistakes to teach us. It was a mistake for Peter to cut off the servant's ear and he must have been horrified. I'm sure that they didn't have the technology in those days to sew ears back on, but it resulted in the servant experiencing a miracle. I wonder what became of him? Did he come to faith?

Later on, the beach following Jesus' resurrection, Peter again received another chance. He probably thought that he had already blown all his chances of ever again being useful to God, but instead, Peter is reinstated and received a commission.

At those times when we feel like a failure, we can ask God to use our mistakes for good because he is the God of the second, third and umpteen chances. 

Susan, an Australian pastor's wife, regularly writes devotional thoughts on Bible passages, book reviews and inspirational articles. Contact