Daily Devotion

Out of the Ashes – 

John 21:15 After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Ash Wednesday begins not with confidence, but with truth. We come marked with ashes—symbols of repentance, mortality, and human limitation. They remind us that we do not arrive at Lent as spiritual heroes, but as people who know disappointment well: disappointment in others, in circumstances, and often in ourselves.

Peter knows this feeling intimately. Only days before this moment on the beach, he had sworn loyalty to Jesus—and then denied him three times. The crowing of the cock still echoes in his memory. When Jesus appears again after the resurrection, Peter returns to fishing. It is familiar work, perhaps a place to hide, perhaps a sign that he believes his moment as a disciple has passed.

But Jesus does not begin with accusation. He does not rehearse Peter’s failure. Instead, he asks a simple and painful question—three times: “Do you love me?” Each question reopens the wound, yet each one also heals it. Jesus meets Peter exactly where his disappointment lives.

Ash Wednesday invites us into the same space. Lent does not ask us to pretend we have it all together. It asks us to face our failures honestly—and to discover that the risen Christ meets us there, not with condemnation, but with a call.

“Feed my sheep,” Jesus says. Trust is restored. Purpose is renewed. Failure is not the end of Peter’s story, nor is it the end of ours. The God who formed us from dust is also the God who breathes new life into fragile people.

A Question to Ponder

Where am I carrying disappointment—about myself, my faith, or my past—and what might it mean to let Jesus speak into that place rather than hide from it?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
on this Ash Wednesday we come honestly,
aware of our weakness and our regret.
Like Peter, we remember the moments
when we have failed you—
through fear, silence, or misplaced confidence.

Meet us in our disappointment.
Ask us again the deeper question of love,
and help us to answer not with pride,
but with trust.

When we feel unworthy to begin again,
remind us that you still call us,
still trust us,
and still have work for us to do.

From ashes, bring renewal;
from failure, faithfulness;
from disappointment, hope.
Amen.

A Simple Lent Practice for Today

As you wash your hands or touch your forehead today, quietly pray:
“Lord, you know that I love you.”