Day 4: The Gift of Coming Back
Reading: John 21:15-17; Joel 2:25
Devotional: Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus asked him three times, "Do you love me?" This wasn't punishment—it was restoration. Each question offered Peter the chance to replace shame with affirmation, denial with declaration.
Not everyone comes back like Peter did. Some walk away like Judas. But when someone returns carrying the weight of what they've done, will you be waiting with condemnation or with breakfast by the fire? Forgiveness releases the past; restoration rebuilds the future. God promises to restore the years the locusts have eaten—not always in ways we imagine, but abundantly. Perhaps you're the one who needs to come back. Jesus isn't waiting with a list of your failures. He's waiting with love, asking, "Do you love me?" Your honest "yes" is enough to begin again.
Devotional: Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus asked him three times, "Do you love me?" This wasn't punishment—it was restoration. Each question offered Peter the chance to replace shame with affirmation, denial with declaration.
Not everyone comes back like Peter did. Some walk away like Judas. But when someone returns carrying the weight of what they've done, will you be waiting with condemnation or with breakfast by the fire? Forgiveness releases the past; restoration rebuilds the future. God promises to restore the years the locusts have eaten—not always in ways we imagine, but abundantly. Perhaps you're the one who needs to come back. Jesus isn't waiting with a list of your failures. He's waiting with love, asking, "Do you love me?" Your honest "yes" is enough to begin again.