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Auxano is a faith-centered community devoted to spiritual growth, renewal, and purposeful living.
The name Auxano is a Hebrew word meaning growth, increase, and becoming better — a powerful reflection of the vision behind this gathering. Inspired by scriptures such as Luke 2:40 and Colossians 1:10, this podcast is a space where believers are encouraged to grow stronger in spirit, deepen in wisdom, and increase in the knowledge of God.
Many of us love God and desire to walk closely with Him, yet life’s pressures can sometimes dim our spiritual flame. Auxano exists to rekindle that fire. Through prayer, teaching, sharing, and pastoral guidance, each episode creates an opportunity for revival, strengthening, and transformation.
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Join us weekly as we seek God together, grow in faith, and step boldly into the purpose He has called us to fulfill.
So today I'm speaking on how to recover from a mistake. How to recover from a mistake.
You might have noticed that many of my messages are titled how to, how to, how to, how to.
Because my heartbeat is not just to talk to you about what you need to do, but also to teach you how to do it. Okay?
to give you practical, hands-on tips. Things you can actually do. And I think sometimes that's the challenge. We hear a lot of messages on what we need to do.
You need to change, you need to do this, you need to stop this, but we are not thought how we should go about it. Okay?
So, today is another one of the how-to messages, and I'm speaking on how to recover from a mistake. How to recover from a mistake.
I guarantee you that if you've been alive long enough, you've made a mistake before. It may be a small mistake, it may be a big mistake,
but if you've been alive long enough, you might have made a mistake before. In fact, if you've written an exam, you've you've made mistakes before.
not turning out the way they expected it to turn out. Some Some people lost large sums of money
from just certain mistakes that they made financially. Mistakes when it comes to jobs, for instance. Mistakes when it comes to applications,
You've selected answers that were wrong. I remember years ago, I I answered a question and I totally deviated.
I I gave an answer to a particular question that was actually for another question, and I remember after the exam, brooding over it and thinking and regretting and feeling so bad
mistakes when it comes to interviews. Mistakes, okay? Your life is definitely going to have a few mistakes.
A few mistakes. So, it's important to know how to recover from a mistake, because if you don't know how to recover from a mistake, when you make one,
and and all of that. Beyond things like exams, you might make mistakes in relationships, for instance,
you're going to sit in that mistake, you're going to live in that mistake, and that mistake will become your identity. And that's what some people have done.
in friendships, in people that you date. You may make mistakes when it comes to finances.
So, now they have an identity based on the errors and the mistakes they made, rather than recovering from that mistake
I know people who have made very major decisions when it comes to their finances that ended up hurting them, or ended up
and becoming better for it. So, today, I'm going to give you the tools, regardless of the mistakes that you've made, whether it's mistakes that you've made
years ago, or mistakes that you've made recently, or mistakes that you may make in the future, I'm equipping you with the right skill set to know how to deal with it.
So, let's let's get right in. Okay? Like, as I already mentioned and laid the foundation that, regardless of who you are, you would make some mistakes
along the journey of life, and it's very key that you know what to do. Okay? The first thing, and I'm going to use
a system that will help you remember it very quickly. I'm going to talk about the five R's of recovering from a mistake.
So, the message is recovering from how to recover from a mistake and I'm focusing on the five R's. I'm giving you an mnemonic that can help you remember
it very quickly. So, the five R's that you need to be able to recover from a mistake. The first thing is to recognize the mistake,
okay? Or acknowledge the mistake. To recognize the mistake and acknowledge the mistake.
Sometimes we live in denial. It's it's very common. You can live in denial and you can say to yourself, 'Oh, well,
I mean, that happened and this happened,' and all of that. But you can only recover from a mistake when you recognize or acknowledge that, 'Okay, this was actually a mistake.'
Sometimes it takes years to recognize that, okay? But when you realize that this was a mistake, it allows you
to actually go back and be able to learn from it and be able to rise from it, which I'll come to in in my later points. But the key
and the starting point for recovering from any mistake is recognizing that this was a mistake, okay?
Like I mentioned, all of us are going to make mistakes at one point or the other. So, the fact that you've made a mistake does not mean that you are a bad person.
The fact that you've made a mistake does not mean that you are an evil person. It just means that you are a human being, okay? It It just It just means that you
um you are a human being and it's okay. It's okay. So, recognize, recognize that you've you've you've made a mistake. Because, if you do not recognize that you've made a mistake,
you are likely to repeat it, because in your mind, this is just something that didn't work out. And so, you are likely to repeat the mistake continually
without realizing. Uh-huh. Because you've not noticed that, 'This was a big error that I made.' Okay? So, always recognize the mistake. Always recognize the mistake.
And how do you How do you know um that something was a mistake?
There are a number of things that can help you realize if something was a mistake, and I'll use some specific examples to help you notice them, okay?
So, you look at what whatever you were involved in did to you, or the results that it brought to you.
Okay? So, um maybe you were in a relationship. Okay? And when you look at how the relationship left you...
There were people who went into a relationship confident, loving, kind, and they came out bitter, angry, insecure. Okay?
So, when you look at that, immediately, you know that this was a mistake. You'll notice a mistake when you deviate from what God told you to do. Sometimes, there are things God told you to do,
or there are things God laid on your heart to do, but you went away from them. And you may not even realize it.
Oftentimes, after the thing has happened, then you go back and realize that, 'Ah, God was prompting me, God was talking to me, God was nudging me, God was speaking to me in this message,'
but I didn't quite pick it, okay? So, when you when you look back at it, you you notice that God was talking to you. Anything that you look back on
and you realize that God was talking to you, you should know that whatever you were involved in was a mistake. And a mistake is not meant to be repeated at all.
A mistake is not meant to be repeated. So, those are some ways that you know that something was a mistake. It's entirely possible
that you could have gone into something very confident that it was the right thing. Very, very, very, very, very confident that it was the right thing,
but by the end of it, by the result... 'By their fruit, you shall know them.' That's what the Bible says. By the end of it and by the result, you realize that this was a mistake.
So, acknowledge, acknowledge the mistake. Okay? Acknowledge the mistake. In fact, one of the things that I'll encourage you to do at one point or the other in your lifetime
but then goes on to um talk about the fact that now I need to take a different um direction. Let me give you some scriptures...
is to sit down and look at what are the mistakes that I have made. What are the mistakes that I have made? Look back at your life.
okay, Proverbs chapter 28 verse 13. The Bible says: 'he that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.'
What are some of the mistakes that I have made? Sometimes, I see people give interviews, and they will often ask a question like, 'If you were this age, if you were to speak to your younger self, what would you tell your younger self? Or what what would you advise your younger self to avoid or not to do?'
Okay, so God calls us to repentance. God calls us to to to repentance and that is very, very important. The word repentance is the word metanoia...
Those type of things, okay? It's good to have those type of conversations with yourself. To look back at your life and say, 'What are some of the big mistakes that I've made?'
and metanoia means to change your mind. Metanoia means to change your mind, okay? So, rep- repentance actually means...
Okay? Sometimes, you may say to yourself, 'I was not hungry enough at this moment.' Or, 'I was not serious enough at this moment. I was not focused on my relationship with God at this moment. I was...'
to change your mind concerning a particular thing. How you did it and to decide to go in a different direction.
So, when you are repenting, you are changing your mind and you are choosing a different direction contrary to the direction you were initially going, that was, that was bringing you that experience of mistakes and regrets and all of that.
those type of things. When you notice it, because sometimes mistakes are also patterns. And you may not realize that there's a pattern of mistakes that you may keep making.
Keep making. So, I've met people who have made the same type of relationship mistake for years.
Okay? So, repenting is changing your mind, going in a different, going in a different direction. I want to show you some scriptures...
And one of the reasons is that they've never really sat down to observe the patterns.
um that have to do with with repentance or what the Bible calls godly sorrow. This is very important. Godly sorrow, Paul talks about it in the book of Corinthians. Godly sorrow...
Look at it. Recognize, and admit that, 'Okay, there is a mistake that I am making. There is an error that I am making here.'
So, it always starts with recognizing the mistakes that you're you're making. Sometimes you may need a sounding board. You may need someone else to help you fish out the mistakes
Second Corinthians chapter 7, the verse number 10. Second Corinthians chapter 7, the verse number 10, because there's there's there's...
and help you flesh them out to to make clearer to you, because in in in your mind, it may seem it may seem that everything is okay.
um worldly sorrow, which the Bible talks about, which is regret, actually, you are just condemning yourself all the time, you're just feeling bad all the time, you're just sad all the time, you're depressed all the time, you're not sure what to do, you're you're feeling bad, but...
but it doesn't end there. Godly sorrow is actually um repentance. Godly sorrow is actually repentance. Let me just open the scriptures to show you.
But when you have a sounding board, when you have someone to talk to, sometimes they can even be friends or mentors or people like that, who can help you flesh out the exact mistakes that you are making.
But it always starts with knowing what mistakes you've made. And that's that's very important.
Second Corinthians chapter number 7, okay.
Now, let's go to the second R. So, the first R, we said recognize the your your mistakes. Okay? Recognize your mistakes.
Second Corinthians chapter number 7, the verse number um we can start from the verse number 9. This is Paul talking to the church in Corinth, and he had given them some instructions, okay? He had corrected them concerning some things.
And then, the second point is repent from the mistakes, okay?
In fact, I've written here, 'Repent, don't just regret.' Because, oftentimes, people spend their lives regretting.
And then he wrote to them in in the first book, First Corinthians, he corrected them concerning some things, and in the second book, he came back and highlighted some further things. From verse 9, he says...
Regretting. The Bible doesn't actually tell uh the Bible doesn't tell us to regret. We are not supposed to regret. Regret means to keep remembering and keep condemning yourself
'Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but you but that ye sorrowed to repentance:' Okay, so the correction brought sorrow, but the purpose was repentance. 'for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.'
'For godly sorrow worketh repentance...' Okay, so when you feel bad about a situation, God doesn't want you to stay there. He wants it to work towards repentance. He says: 'it worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.'
about something that has happened. So, you you always call it to mind and you keep condemning yourself, you keep condemning yourself, you keep condemning yourself. 'Oh, I should never have done this. What was wrong with me?' No.
The Bible never calls us to be in regret. The Bible calls us to repent, okay?
The the the the Bible calls us to to repent. Let me give you a quick difference between repenting and regretting.
So, there's the sorrow of the world. You can feel bad about something and you may think that it's okay, but that sorrow can work death. That's why there are people who have sorrow and kill themselves. There are people who have sorrow, they can't forgive themselves. They've made a mistake and they can't forgive themselves...
Regretting will say something like this, 'I wish I hadn't done that.' Okay? Um regret When you are regretting something, you say something like, 'I wish I hadn't done that.' But when you are repenting,
because the sorrow they're having is working death. Rather, godly sorrow is supposed to produce repentance. Then he goes on to explain what godly sorrow entails. He says: 'For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness...'
you would say, 'I shouldn't have done that, and I'm going to turn in a different direction, or I'm going to do things differently.' So, regret will say, 'I wish I hadn't done that,' and and regret will stay there. 'Regret, I wish, what was wrong with me?'
But repent will say, 'Hmm, I shouldn't have done that.' So, start with acknowledgement,
That's the repentance. Repentance makes you careful. '...what carefulness it wrought in you,' because you are now taking a different direction. Okay, so a lot of mistakes come from carelessness. Mistakes come from carelessness...
and negligence. Sometimes you don't you don't take some things serious enough. You may see some signs and ignore them. There's a lot of carelessness, okay? But when you repent, now you have carefulness. Then he says: 'yea, what clearing of yourselves,' The word 'clearing of yourselves' has to do with ensuring that you are not found amongst anything...
that reaks of the mistake that you were making, okay? So, for instance, if you were involved in a certain company that caused certain mistakes, if you were involved with a certain group, or you were into certain things that caused certain mistakes, now repentance means that you decide that 'I'm going to clear myself from all of that.' He says: 'yea, what indignation,' Indignation has to do with...
holy anger. You know, indignation is the word anger. It has to do with holy anger, a righteous anger, that 'No, this is this is not right. I'm not going to I'm not going to get into this thing again.' 'yea, what fear,' You see, fear has to do with...
being concerned about the consequences of something that you're involved in. The reason why you don't put your hands in fire is because you know that's there's a fear concerning the the results of that fire. Then he says: 'yea, what vehement desire,' again, indignation, 'vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge!' Revenge means that you want to ensure...
that things are brought back the way they are supposed to to to be. Then he says: 'In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.' That's godly sorrow. So, God doesn't want you to stay in regret. He wants you to move towards repentance.
And I find that people can stay in regret for a very long time, and, interestingly enough, they enjoy regret. They enjoy regret. Let me give you an example in the Bible.
Peter did something very serious. He denied Jesus. Very, very serious. He denied Jesus, um when Jesus was was accosted and was was going to be crucified. Peter denied him completely. He was he was said to know Jesus, and he said, 'No, absolutely not, I don't know him from anywhere.'
Judas also betrayed Jesus. They actually committed the same sin. Judas betrayed Jesus, he sold um him, and Jesus came and Jesus was taken, and he was going to be crucified and and and all of that.
So, both of them, both of them actually betrayed Jesus. Both of them actually betrayed Jesus. But here's the difference: Judas entered into regret. Rather than entering into repentance, he entered into regret.
And that regret led Judas to commit suicide. Judas ended up killing himself. When he noticed, when he came to the realization that 'Ah, I've made such a big mistake,' what did Judas do? Immediately he went to kill himself. Judas did not wait for the mercy...
or did not turn towards repentance. He he he he just made his bed with regret, and that was a problem. That was a big, big problem. But Peter, although Peter had made the same mistake, Peter did not go into regret,
rather, Peter repented. Peter waited for God's mercy. And when Jesus came back in John chapter 21, Jesus came back to him and restored Peter. He says: 'Peter, lovest thou me? Feed my lambs.' In fact, Jesus gave him a ministry.
He he denied Jesus three times, Jesus asked him a question three times, almost as though reversing the three mistakes he made, and gave him a ministry. Jesus focused on the ministry. Jesus did not even talk about, 'Oh, Peter, how dare how dare you deny me? How dare you do this? Oh, Peter, how how could you have done this?' No, Jesus focused on repentance, on changing his direction,
on changing his focus. And that's what you what should happen. When you make a mistake, focus on repentance. Don't focus on on on on regret. Don't say, 'How could I have done this? Oh, how could I have done this? What's wrong with me? Oh, no...'
learn, recognize,
repent,
No, you're entering into regret. You are becoming like Judas. Now, rather, you say, you should say, 'What must I do differently from this point forward? What must I do differently from this point forward?' That's repentance. That's repentance, okay? So,
repair, and
relearn. So, learn
from the mistake.
A mistake is for learning. The purpose of a mistake is for learning.
Remember, at the beginning, I mentioned that all of us will make mistakes.
I'm I'm talking to you about the five R's, okay? How to recover from a mistake. And we are talking about the five R's, okay? Um it's just a mnemonic to help you remember. So, the first thing I mentioned is that recognize, admit the mistake, recognize the mistake.
All of us will make mistakes.
There's no course that you try to learn that you don't make mistakes initially.
In fact, you'll make a lot of mistakes. There's nothing you become good at without making mistakes.
Number two, repent. Turn from the mistake. Turn from the mistake, okay? Very, very important. Just change your direction, that's repentance. Change your direction. Then the third thing, when you make a mistake, is to repair,
But the key in getting better, a mistake is not meant to be repeated.
A mistake is an opportunity to improve yourself, to get better, to get better.
So, when a mistake happens or when you make a mistake, learn from it, relearn. And I'm using the word relearn because
what I'm trying to emphasize is that you have to learn again.
Yeah, you may have to put aside all that you know and learn some things anew, learn again.
okay? Make right what you can, uh to repair means to make right. So, when you when you make a mistake, and the mistake, I mean, it's it's essentially your fault, you have to look at how can I how can I restore...
um some things. How can I repair some things? Maybe maybe you've hurt someone. Recovery might require an apology, don't just gloss over it, okay? Uh maybe you've caused some financial damage, some you know, some losses and all that. You should think about restitution to the people. Do you remember Zacchaeus?
Learn from the
mistake. You see, sometimes you ask yourself
what did this mistake reveal about me because sometimes a mistake reveals certain things about you.
Jesus told him Zacchaeus come down from the sycamore tree and all of that. Jesus told him to give back, uh to give back to the people he had taken from, okay? Romans chapter 12 verse 18 says: 'If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.' Live live peaceably with all men. Always live...
Maybe in a fit of anger, you said certain things you're not supposed to say.
Right, and then it reveals that, ah, maybe I'm not as patient as I thought. Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought. So, it's an opportunity to relearn.
So, you have to learn patience again even though you thought you had mastered it before.
peaceably with all men. I love the scripture. It says, 'as much as lieth within you.' So, as much as it concerns you, desire to live at peace with all men, okay? If you've hurt someone, there's nothing wrong with rendering an apology. Try to repair. Repair doesn't always mean restoration, okay?
You see, learn, learn patience again. So,
a mistake can reveal
weaknesses. You see, it can reveal some weaknesses that you may not realize that you have.
It can reveal some
wrong attitudes. It can reveal a lot of things. It can reveal some bad habits. It can reveal
poor decisions. It essentially reveals a lot of areas where you might need God's help.
For instance, maybe some things have happened and some friendship or relationship or connection, at least, there can be a repair to the extent of peace, but not to the extent of restoration. So, it depends on on what the the circumstances are, okay?
Yeah, so sometimes you may need to say, 'I'm sorry,' sometimes you may need to ask for forgiveness, sometimes you may need to return something that isn't yours. If you took something that wasn't yours, you need to return it, that's repair. You may need to pay back a debt. You see? Sometimes you may need to correct something you said. Maybe you've said something about someone, okay,
Okay, so when you make a mistake, it's not a death sentence.
I've always said that the way we learn to walk is by making mistakes.
Okay, if you watch a child learning how to walk, you notice that they take a few steps,
and you didn't mean it that way. You may have to go back and explain, 'Okay, actually, this is what I meant to say. It came out this way, but I apologize, um forgive me,' and take responsibility instead of making making excuses. So, repair, okay? Recognize, repent, repair,
and then they fall down.
Right, in that falling down,
they learn to balance themselves better,
recognize, repent, repair. In fact, you've read in the Bible when Jesus spoke about the fact that if you're if you are going to pray and you have a grudge with someone, I mean, go back, repair, before you even come to the place of prayer. So, God is interested in in repair, in repair. That's that's very, very important. But like I mentioned, repair is not always restoration.
their gait becomes better,
they learn how to stand a bit better,
they learn poise a bit better,
they learn how to take strides a bit better. It is in the falling. Without the falling, the child would never learn what not to do to fall.
So, your mistakes are an opportunity to learn what not to do to fall.
Okay, what not to do to fall.
So, that's, it's very, very, very important. Very, very, very important.
So, that's important. The fourth point, the fourth point is re-
Become wiser
because of what you go through.
Grow through what you go through. So, everything that happens, let it be a growth, it's an opportunity for growth,
it's an opportunity for you to become better. If you learn to use your mistakes as substrate,
as cannon fodder to help you make better decisions, you'll be amazed at how much better of a person you become. You become wiser,
you become stronger, you become better,
you become well-rounded in all areas.
You see, that's why from the beginning, I said that it may serve you well to actually write down
some of the things that you have made mistakes in, and then some of the lessons you have learned from them.
And you realize that you become, you become wiser, you become better, you become stronger. So,
when you make a mistake,
relearn. What can I learn from this? What has this revealed about myself?
And what do I need to learn to ensure that I don't get back to this cycle again? Because sometimes, mistakes become cycles.
It's amazing that there are people who have made the same mistake for years.
The same mistake in different forms, the same mistake
in different forms for years.
And they've never taken the opportunity, they've never sat themselves down,
they've never taken the time to say, what can I learn from this? How can I
get better? What is this revealing about me?
Okay, so my fifth and final point
about recovering from a mistake, the five Rs,
is rise. Okay, so you rise
from a mistake. Let me read Proverbs chapter 24, the verse number 16.
It says, 'For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.'
So, mistakes will happen. He's saying a just man,
right? A just man, can you imagine? You may expect a just man not to fall, but he says, 'For the righteous,' actually, other versions say the righteous,
'falleth seven times, and riseth again.'
The sentence doesn't end with 'for a just man falleth seven times' full stop, no, he says that, 'he falleth seven times, all right, yes, granted, but he riseth up again seven times.'
Seven times. So,
regardless of how many times you fall, keep going.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Keep going. Don't, don't stop at all.
Don't stop at all.
Rise.
Rise.
Rise. Rise again and keep going. Rise from the mistake.
If you were walking somewhere and you fell into a pond, maybe a dirty pond or a pool of water,
would you make your bed there?
Would you suddenly bring all your belongings and make your bed there because, 'I made a mistake. Oh, I've made a mistake, so that is it, I'm done for.' No.
No, no, no, no, no. Rise from the mistake, dust yourself up, and keep going.
And keep going. That
is very, very, very important. And you see this as a common trait
among all the people God used in the Scripture.
They all made mistakes. They all made many mistakes.
Right from Abraham the patriarch,
think of Moses, think of the number of mistakes that Moses made
right down to the wire, to the promised land.
And think of Samson, think of David, David the beloved,
David the man after God's own heart, many mistakes, many mistakes.
The classic one was with
taking his soldier's wife and all of that, I mean, many mistakes, many issues.
Paul made many mistakes, many mistakes,
but keep going. Paul said, 'This one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, I press
on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.'
So, it is not worth looking back, it is worth looking forward.
Imagine looking back and trying to walk forward, it's a very difficult thing,
you'll trip very easily.
The best way to walk forward is to look forward.
You see, so, rise, rise from your mistake.
Learn the art of rising. Don't, don't give up.
You see, to not rise is to make the mistake your identity.
And that's what a lot of people do.
They make the mistake their identity.
So, 'Because I made this mistake, now I am like this. Now, this is who I am.' Okay, because I failed in this exam,
now I am a failure.
You see, so, they, they, they
they take the mistake and make the mistake their identity.
When the, when the mistake is actually supposed to be an opportunity for growth.
Don't make a mistake or a series of mistakes your identity.
Always see mistakes as an opportunity for growth.
So, rather than lie with the mistake, and the way you lie with the mistake is to make the mistake your identity.
You embrace it now, you make it a part of your identity, you accept it.
And that's why sometimes, I have a challenge with people who start to say things like, 'This is how I am.'
Okay, 'This is how I am. As for me, this is how I am.'
You know, they talk about, 'This is my temperament. This is my this. This is my this. This is my this. This is my that.'
Temperaments, love languages, whatever framework,
all of those things are an opportunity for you to discover what your proclivities are.
They are not definitions of who you are, they are not
concrete, bona fide your identity, not at all.
They highlight your proclivities even for a season sometimes, because the seasons can change.
They highlight what your tendencies are, but they don't define you.
So, in the highlighting of your tendencies are opportunities for you to make yourself better,
not to say, 'This is who I am and that is it.'
There are people who say, 'I am a very angry person.' That's not who you are.
That's what you, you've made some mistakes along the way and you've made your bed with that mistake.
You've decided that, 'Ah, anger, I love you. I'm going to live with you, I'm going to sleep with you, that's my identity. I'm not rising from here.' No.
But you need to rise from it,
and get better and better and better and better.
Paul said, 'This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.'
Regardless of the mistake you make,
regardless of the mistake you make,
recognize it.
Repent from it.
Repair relationships and situations if need be.
Relearn, learn and relearn.
And rise from it.
In Jesus' mighty name, I pray that no mistake will become your identity.
I pray that
no mistake
will become your constant pattern and constant reality.
But I pray that you'll grow day by day,
and get better day by day. That the mistake that was supposed to bring you down
will be the mistake that actually ends up
propping you up.
In Jesus' mighty name.
Amen.