The story of Peter is a beautiful one. If anything, Peter is zealous, excited, and ambitious for the cause of Christ. He creates some of the landmark moments in Jesus’ ministry, from his bout with walking on water to his bold confession that Jesus is the Christ. Sadly, some of Peter’s most notable moments are the ones where he puts his foot in his mouth–such as the moment of the transfiguration or the bigger, far more devastating moment when he denied knowing the Savior.

There are so many facets to Peter’s story, but my favorite is that it doesn’t end there; it doesn’t end with his denial. It doesn’t end with Peter’s darkest hour. Instead, Peter goes on to be an elder, a teacher, a writer, and a preacher of the gospel. Peter’s words would forever encourage and strengthen. Peter’s example of faith, trust, and perseverance are to be praised!

So what do we do with Peter’s story? Obviously, we could learn something from each individual account, sure. But here’s the thing: we have the entire story. Sometimes, it’s nice to take the Bible as a whole–take someone’s life as a whole–and ask ourselves what we can learn from their entire life, not simply the one moment we choose to take. As for Peter’s story, I think it’s one of the most relatable and applicable in all of Scripture, and I want to take it, as a whole, today.

You see, just like there are many facets to Peter’s story, there are many facets to ours. We have all had our “great confession” & “walk on the water” moments. We have trusted so wholly and so deeply in our Lord that He accomplished great things through us. We have sought His will for our lives and He brought us through whatever it was we were facing. Those moments are the ones that propel us, and no doubt helped propel Peter into the amazing evangelist and elder that he would become. Like Peter, we must use those moments to help us accomplish even more! Could he not have said, “Well, I was the (only) one who walked on the water with the Lord! Beat that!” and then sat back and watched as life passed him by? Could he not have said, “Well, my confession is the one that the entire Kingdom of God will be built upon! Beat that!” and sat back and watched life pass him by? Absolutely. But he didn’t. He continued on to do great things in the kingdom, and we are forever indebted to his efforts…because where would we be had the first century people not heard about the gospel?

Like Peter, use your big, mountaintop moments to propel you to even greater heights. Only remember: these heights are not about you at all. The only way you will be able to achieve immeasurable heights is by using the strength of Jesus (Phil. 4:13).

However, just like Peter had some pretty high, wonderful facets in his life, he also walked through the valley of death sometimes too. Like Peter, we have all had our ‘deny the Lord’ moments. We have all behaved in such a way that wounded our Savior (Rom. 3:23). We have all been slapped in the face and struck to the ground by our overwhelming sins. Even after accomplishing great things. Even after being on fire for God. Even after leaving all and following after Jesus Christ….we have stumbled. We have fallen short. We have done something we never thought we’d do–fallen so far from where we need to be.

A few years ago, Tim Orbison (the preacher at the congregation where I grew up) said this: “We don’t change when things are going well. We change when we’re slapped in the face with the fact that we’re wrong.” Peter used his ‘slap in the face’ as a springboard to be better. He could have responded like Judas did; killing himself because he’d betrayed the Lord. Peter had betrayed the Lord too, but he saw that as a moment of opportunity.

You’ve heard it said, “with great power comes great responsibility”. A similar sentiment may apply here: where there is great, far-reaching failure, there is great opportunity. When you have fallen so low, sinned so much, betrayed so deeply….there is a great opportunity for change, repentance, salvation, forgiveness. Peter used this horrifyingly low moment in his life to get up, turn around, and do better. He never fell so low again, but only because he got back up and purposed not to. When you and I make mistakes (and boy will we make some doosies), we must get back up and purpose not to do that again. We must use our slap in the face to make us better and stronger, just like Peter did.

I have sinned so much in my life. There have been times when I have felt so beaten down, discouraged, and disgusted because of the ugly, staining sin in my life. I have definitely received more than a couple of slaps in the face–when the rubber of sin meets the harsh road of reality. But I am so thankful for those slaps in the face, because they have made me closer to my Father, and have made me refocus, rededicate, and repurpose.

Have you ever had any moments like these? Walk on the water moments? Denying the Lord moments? Whatever they are (or will be), use them. Let them propel you to a brighter tomorrow, and a closer more dedicated walk with your Lord.