Stop Thinking You're Too Broken for God's Calling

We all have one, don’t we? 

A regret, a stupid mistake. 

The kind of “I was dumb once” memory that we try shoving to the bottom of our brain pile, then attempt to build a different kind of life on top of it. 

Maybe it was a toxic relationship, a backslide season, a lie you told that you can’t quite outrun.

Big or small, we seal that regret into the foundation of our story, hoping it won’t break loose and crack the whole thing apart.

Peter knew this. He lived it, too.

After Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and the disciples scattered, Peter – who had just hours before promised Jesus his to-the-death devotion (Matthew 26:35) – spun a major 180 and insisted he’d never met Jesus in his life. Circumstances got rough, and Peter caved.

“Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. ‘You also were with Jesus of Galilee,’ she said. But he denied it before them all. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said. Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, ‘This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ He denied it again, with an oath: ‘I don’t know the man!’ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, ‘Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.’ Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’ Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:69-75)
 

Talk about regret. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your lifetime to create a gut-punch of guilt; it can’t be as bad as Peter’s fumble. He was best friends with Jesus in the flesh, and he pretended he wasn’t. That’s heresy in its most heart-wrenching form.

But flip ahead in the Bible to another story, the sequel. 

In John chapter 21, several days after Jesus’s death and resurrection, when surely the disciples must’ve felt anchorless, Jesus appeared to them on the shoreline. Here he had a pivotal heart-to-heart with Peter.

“...Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’

Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’” (John 21:15-19)

How many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three. How many times does Jesus ask Peter to reclaim his love for Him? Three. One question for each offense. One affirmation to repair each regret. 

Which equals total restoration. Total forgiveness.

Our God is completely good.

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He gives Peter an assignment, a job to do—one that would change the course of history. Peter went on to become one of the greatest leaders in the early church, responsible for spreading the gospel story far and wide.

So here’s what I want us to understand. Peter's restoration wasn't unique—it's the template for how God works with all of us. Think about your own mistakes. Do you ever wonder if they’re unforgivable? Like somehow they render you unworthy of God’s love, unworthy of a role on His team?

They don’t. If Jesus can forgive His best friend for heresy then He can certainly forgive you for whatever it is that holds you back. It’s why He died on the cross, remember? So that you don’t have to carry that regret like a noose around your neck.

But more than that, Jesus wants to use you—right where you are, even before you fully grasp the magnitude of your assignment. It starts with following His simple invitations, those nudges you sense and can’t shake.

Take care of my lambs. Feed my sheep.

Use your gifts to love people, to show compassion, to tell people about Him in whatever form or fashion makes sense for you.

Maybe that means writing a book or starting a podcast. Maybe it’s opening a shop on Etsy or inviting the neighbors to form a book club, running for the school board or fostering a child. Maybe you just need to step back into a church, or step out of a commitment that’s preventing you from being fully available for God’s calling.

Whatever you sense God is asking you to do, you don’t need to be perfect to do it. You just need to be willing.

And what does God do with our imperfection and regret? He nails it to the cross. Peter’s story shows us that God specializes in turning our biggest failures into our greatest ministries. Your mistakes don’t get to write the final chapter of your story. Your past prepared you; it didn't disqualify you. The very thing you're most ashamed of might be exactly what God wants to use to reach someone else who needs to hear that they're not disqualified, either. 

So tell me: What is He whispering to your heart? It's time to listen.