The Peter Protocol: God's Blueprint for a Comeback When You Feel Disqualified

I want to talk to the person who feels like they have completely disqualified themselves.

Maybe you made a mistake at work that cost the company money. Maybe you snapped at your kids this morning. Maybe you fell back into a habit you swore you were done with. Or maybe, you made a promise to God—a big one—and you broke it. Publicly.

And now, you are sitting in the wreckage of that decision. But you aren't just feeling guilt; you are feeling shame.

The Critical Difference: Guilt vs. Shame

It's crucial to understand the difference.
Guilt says, "I made a mistake."
Shame says, "I am a mistake.”

If you are feeling shame today, it feels like a system failure. It feels like your life has crashed, the screen has gone blue, and there is no reboot button. The enemy is whispering that your usefulness is over, that God can’t use damaged goods.

If that is you, I have some News of Good Things. We’re going to open the User Manual—the Bible—to the anatomy of a comeback through the life of Peter in John chapter 21. What happened on that beach isn't just a nice religious story; it is a tactical blueprint for how to execute a factory reset on your life when you think it’s over.

The Instinct to Retreat: Peter's "I'm Going Fishing" Moment

To understand the comeback, we have to understand the crash. Peter, the CEO of the disciples, famously denied Jesus three times. The Bible says he "wept bitterly"—the sound of a man who has lost all respect for himself.

Fast forward a few days. Jesus has risen, but Peter is still drowning in shame. So what does he do? He looks at the other disciples and says three words: "I’m going fishing."

This wasn't a vacation; it was a resignation. Peter was a fisherman before Jesus called him to be a "fisher of men." He was saying, "I tried this disciple thing and I crashed. I'm going back to my old identity, to the only thing I know I'm good at."

How many of us do this? We mess up, so we retreat to the familiar because it feels safe, even if it’s broken. But look what happens: "that night they caught nothing."

The Mercy of the Empty Net

This is our first NOGT: Your old life will stop working once you’ve tasted your new purpose.

That empty net wasn't bad luck. It was God’s severe mercy. God loved Peter too much to let him succeed at the wrong thing. If you are running back to your old coping mechanisms and they feel empty and draining, that is not God punishing you. That is God jamming the gears of your old life so you can't go back. He is frustrating your retreat so you have to face your future.

The Anatomy of a Comeback: Breakfast on the Beach

As the sun comes up, the disciples see Jesus on the shore. When they get there, they don't find a lecture; they find a meal. Verse 9 says, "they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread."

1. He Serves Before He Speaks: Jesus made them breakfast. He didn't greet them with a sermon; He greeted them with a sandwich. He knew they were tired and hungry. He addresses the physical need before He ever touches the spiritual failure, because shame thrives in exhaustion.

2. He Rewrites the Memory: The text specifically mentions a "fire of burning coals." The last time Peter stood by a fire of burning coals was in the courtyard where he denied Jesus. The smell of the smoke was a trigger for his greatest failure. But this time, the fire isn't the setting of his failure; it’s the setting of his fellowship. Jesus is taking the trigger and turning it into a table.

This is the protocol of presence: Jesus invites you to bring your shame to the table, not hide it in the closet. The healing starts when you stop running and just sit down with H

The Question That Restores

After they ate, the surgery began. Jesus didn't ask, "Why did you do it?" He asked one question, three times to cancel out the three denials: "Simon, do you love me?"

He didn't ask about Peter’s performance. He asked about Peter’s heart. Your restoration is not based on your track record; it is based on your relationship. You can have a terrible track record and still have a heart that loves God. If your answer to His question is "yes," you are still in the game.

Your Blueprint for a Comeback: The "Feed My Sheep" Protocol

After each time Peter says "I love you," Jesus gives a command: "Feed my sheep." This is the final, powerful NOGT.

Service Kills Shame.

Shame is incredibly self-centered. It makes you obsessed with your failure, your weakness, your reputation. The moment Peter had to take his eyes off himself to focus on the needs of a sheep, he was free. You don’t heal by thinking; you heal by doing. You heal by being useful again.

Redemption makes you others-focused. If you are drowning in regret today, use the "Feed My Sheep" protocol. Stop replaying the tape of your mistake. Instead, find one person who needs help.

• Send an encouraging text to a friend.

• Buy the person behind you a coffee.

• Serve your spouse or your kids without complaining.

Do one act of service. It will break the cycle of shame faster than a hundred hours of analyzing your past. Get your eyes off yourself and onto the sheep. That is where you will find your dignity again.

This is the News of Good Things: Your failure was an event, not a destiny. Get up, wash your face, and go feed some sheep

P.S. If you liked this post, you’ll love the full breakdown in Chapter 1 of my book. Get it for free here.