Have you ever felt like you let Jesus down?

Peter was so sure he would never fall away, but he did not see his own vulnerability.

Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
Matthew 26:33-34

Peter’s confidence in his own determination blinded him to his need for God's strength, leaving him vulnerable to failure.

Jesus asked Peter to stay awake and pray, but he fell asleep.

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?"
Matthew 26:40

When Peter fell asleep instead of praying, he missed the chance to draw on the strength he desperately needed to stand firm in the trials ahead.

Peter acted without thinking - swinging his sword. But when Jesus chose surrender, Peter’s confidence crumbled.

And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
Matthew 26:51

Peter’s impulsive reaction showed his confusion, and his resolve weakened when Jesus chose surrender over resistance.

Peter Denies Jesus Three Times

First Denial

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”
Matthew 26:69-70

Second Denial

And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”
Matthew 26:71-72

Third Denial

After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Matthew 26:73-75

We might think we would never deny Jesus, but don’t we do it every day in different ways?

Acts of Disobedience

When we choose sin, we are living in a way that goes against God’s heart.

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
1 John 3:4

Failure to Act

Knowing the right thing to do but staying silent—it is still sin.

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
James 4:17

Neglecting the Relationship

It is easy to take credit for our success and forget that it is all from God.

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18

For not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.
Psalm 44:3

We have all faced moments of denial, just like Peter. So how do we move from denying Jesus to living for Him every day?

1. Daily surrender to the Holy Spirit.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16

2. Cultivate a habit of listening and prayer.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12-13

3. Pursue a daily connection with Jesus.

You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
Deuteronomy 13:4

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:8