We all deny the Lord in different ways. The worst kind of denial comes when we are overconfident in our faith, relying more on our strength than on the Spirit. This is what happened to Peter when he denied the Lord three times.

The setting for Peter’s denial is important to understand. The night his denial occurred, Peter stood around a fire with the servants and soldiers in the high priest’s courtyard. “Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself” (John 18:18). 

Because the fire was charcoal, not a flaming campfire, Peter, the household servants, and the soldiers had to stand close enough to the fire to stay warm. The charcoal fire produced a faint glow on the faces of those standing around the fire’s glow. Peter’s three denials took place in proximity to the warmth of the fire and its subtle illuminating presence.

At the third denial, Peter remembered the words of Jesus, “Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.’ And he went away, weeping bitterly” (Matthew 26:70). It was in that public denial where Peter’s overconfidence crumbled, that he went away weeping bitterly over the reality of what he had done.

Each of us will have a time when we will deny the Lord. No one is immune no matter how confident we are in our faith. It may not be as dramatic as Peter’s denial, but it is still a denial. Denial happens when fear silences our voice when we should have spoken up in support of Jesus, or when we did not challenge a conversation that diminished the Lordship of Jesus. Peter’s denial was an attempt to distance himself from Jesus because the violence of Jesus’ arrest filled the air. We will have similar situations that will allow fear to create the scene of our denial.

The restoration of Peter did not come from what Peter would do to prove himself once again. His restoration was now in the Lord’s hands, the one he denied. After Peter’s catastrophic and seemingly career-ending denial, the Lord forgave Peter and restored him to become one of the greatest leaders in Church history.

In Peter’s future, there were times when he would recall what happened that night around a charcoal fire as he, the servants, and the soldiers stood close to the fire to stay warm. Each face was dimly lit during the night of the denial. Peter’s image of his self-confidence stating he would never deny the Lord faded in the glow of the fire along with the evidence of his previous act of bravado while the blood of Malchus was still on his sword. 

We can share Peter’s story of God’s restoration when we have denied the Lord in whatever way that denial takes place. When we deny the Lord, the restoration from our denial is in God’s hands, not ours.  Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. He will be faithful to restore us when the depth of our betrayal leaves us wondering if restoration is possible. With God, all things are possible, even our restoration when we have miserably failed Him.