‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.’ 

(2 Corinthians 12:9, CSB) 

I believe that many people who are not familiar with the Bible are of the opinion that it is simply a book full of stories about perfect, holy people who lived perfect, holy lives with their perfect, holy God.  

Only one part of that previous sentence is correct – we do indeed read in the pages of the Bible about a perfect and holy God. But that is where the likeness ends! 

Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly chooses flawed, ordinary, and even broken people to accomplish extraordinary purposes. The Bible is not a collection of perfect heroes; it’s a testimony to a perfect God working through imperfect people. 

In a moment we will unpack the biblical story of one such flawed, ordinary and broken individual, but before we get to them, let’s take a bird’s eye view of the human condition in scripture: 

• Moses struggled with insecurity and speech difficulties yet became the brave leader of the people of God, leading them out of slavery. 

• Rahab had a deeply troubled past but can be found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. 

• David failed morally yet was called a man after God’s heart. 

• Peter denied Jesus three times but later became a bold leader. 

• Paul persecuted Christians to the point of death before becoming an apostle. 

If you ignore who these people eventually became and gathered them together in a crowd with all of their flaws and checkered back stories, you will have a rag-tag bunch of individuals who would struggle to lead themselves, let alone be an important part of scripture and biblical history.  

Let’s look at a person in biblical history that exemplifies what God can do with someone who might consider themselves worthless, useless and ill-equipped to do anything of note for the Lord and His people. 

We find Gideon in the book of Judges, threshing wheat in a winepress to avoid the dangerous attention of the enemy – the Midianites… 

Then the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and not only addressed him as a valiant warrior whom the Lord was with, but one who would deliver the people of Israel from the grasp of the Midianites… 

‘He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”  

“But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”’ 

(Judges 6:15-16, CSB) 

The story that ensues is nothing short of miraculous.  

Gideon rises from being a timid, cowardly individual to a leader of a troop of men who would see the Lord move on their behalf – and yes, strike down the Midianite enemy! 

If you are keen to glean the full brevity of the shift in Gideon’s life, I encourage you to read Judges and the story of Gideon. You will see time after time just how God uses Gideon at each stage of his doubt and fear to bring about the result He desires. 

Many believers disqualify themselves from serving God because of past mistakes, personal weaknesses, or feelings of inadequacy. Yet Scripture consistently shows that God specialises in using people who know they need Him. 

God is not looking for perfect people – He is looking for willing people. 

• God looks at availability before ability. 

• Weakness creates space for God’s strength to be displayed. 

• Failure is not always the end of someone’s story. 

• God’s grace is greater than our flaws. 

Our weaknesses are not obstacles to God; often they are the very places where His power shines brightest. 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  

(2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)