When Peter exercised enough faith to get out of the boat and walk on water, he sank and looked worse than any of the other disciples. When he tried to defend Jesus, he cut off a man’s ear. When he promised to be loyal, he fell flat on his face. When he tried to advise Jesus, he was the devil’s advocate (see Matthew 16:22-23). Eventually he became a leader in the church – but he got worse before he got better. And his behaviour didn’t surprise or discourage Jesus one bit.

He will never stop helping a follower of His who is sincerely seeking to grow. He will always lead us forward in growth; but growth requires risk, and risk sometimes means failure. Jesus knows that, but He never gives up on a student just because he or she fails. For example, if you haven’t been confronting people when you should, once you start, the odds are that you will do it badly. If you have rarely encouraged people, your initial attempts may be clumsy. If you have never shared your faith, the first time you do, you may stumble all over yourself. Go ahead and stumble! Failure isn’t about falling down; it’s about refusing to try.

One man told his pastor, ‘If I were God, I wouldn’t put up with someone like me.’ The pastor replied, ‘Then be glad you’re not God, and I’ll be twice as glad – for we would both be sunk.’ As long as you hunger for God, He will work with you and in you. Growing in grace means growing spiritually through the stages of childhood, adolescence, and into maturity. So, don’t give up on yourself – God won’t!