Peter was a man familiar with failure. He was the leader of the twelve, the one to ask the most questions, and the one to be rebuked most often by Jesus. Peter was a man who took risks; he was also a man who had to come back from a rather spectacular failure. Peter denied Jesus three times. After the third time, Jesus turned and looked directly at him. Peter had risked coming to the trial of Jesus and got close enough to where Jesus could see him. Peter had failed, and he knew it.

Leaders can come back from failure. Failure is never final; God never sees failure as a stopping point. Failure is the moment where a leader can fight again. Christian leaders are held to a higher standard; the message we preach is one we must back up. Because of this, failure—especially a moral failure—can seem detrimental, but we can bounce back and keep moving forward as we rely on God and seek His will.