Can God Still Use Me After My Failures?

Can God Still Use Me After My Failures?

Your past is real. Your failures are real. But so is what the Bible says about what God does with people who have failed.

In this episode, I break down what Scripture shows about how God uses broken and failed people, why your history is not disqualifying, and what it actually looks like to step back into purpose after serious failure.

In this episode:
• What the Bible consistently shows about the kinds of people God chooses to use — and why it should surprise you
• Why failure is not disqualifying in God's economy even when it feels permanent to you
• What it looks like practically to step back into purpose and calling after your life went somewhere you never planned

Walk & Warfare exists to answer the hard questions about faith, suffering, doubt, salvation, and what it actually looks like to follow Christ in the world we live in today. No fluff. No performance. Just real biblical answers for real people.

Anthony Jennings founded Walk & Warfare to give believers — and seekers — a place to wrestle honestly with the Bible and come out with something they can stand on.

New episodes every Monday, Wednesday & Friday — Subscribe so you never miss one.

📺 Watch more Walk & Warfare https://www.youtube.com/@walkandwarfare

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:22

Many people quietly carry a heavy question in their hearts. After mistakes, after moral failure, after seasons where they feel like they should have known better, they begin to wonder, can God still use someone like me? Failure has a way of making people feel disqualified. We look back at decisions we regret, words we wish we could take back, moments where we feel like we let God and others down, and sometimes the weight of those memories can lead people to believe their story is permanently damaged. But when we look at the Bible we see something very different. Scripture is filled with people whose lives included serious failure, and yet God still worked through them. One of the most well-known examples is the Apostle Peter. Peter was one of Jesus' closest disciples. He walked with Jesus, learned from him, and promised he would never abandon him. But on the night Jesus was arrested, Peter denied even knowing him. Not once, but three times. Luke 22, 61 describes a moment after the third denial when Jesus looked directly at Peter. In that moment, Peter realized what he had done, and he wept bitterly. It would have been easy to assume Peter's story was finished, but it wasn't. After the resurrection, Jesus met Peter again. In John 21, Jesus restored him and gave him a renewed calling. Feed my sheep. Peter's failure did not cancel God's purpose for his life. Instead, it became part of the story of grace that shaped him into a humble and courageous leader. The same pattern appears throughout Scripture. Moses made serious mistakes before God called him to lead Israel. David committed grave sins, but later returned to God in repentance. Paul once persecuted Christians before becoming one of the most influential voices in the early church. The Bible does not hide the failures of its leaders. It shows how God's grace works in the middle of human weakness. 2 Corinthians 12 9 records something God told the Apostle Paul, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. God's work in our lives does not depend on our perfection. It depends on His grace. Failure can bring deep humility, it can reshape our priorities, and sometimes it becomes the place where we learn how deeply we need God's mercy. Over the years I've come to realize that many people believe their failure disqualifies them, but the gospel tells a different story. Christ did not come for people who had never made mistakes. He came for sinners, for people who needed forgiveness, for people whose lives required restoration. God does not only forgive, he restores, and often the people who have experienced grace most deeply are the ones who later help others find it. Your failure may be part of your story, but it does not have to be the end of it, because the God who forgives is also the God who redeems, and he is still able to write new chapters in the lives of those who return to him.