Does God use imperfect people? Absolutely.
One of the greatest examples of this is the story of David vs. Goliath. When a nine-foot Philistine named Goliath was harassing the Israelites daily, challenging just one of them to fight him in a winner take all battle, not one Israeli soldier accepted his challenge.
Enter David, a young Israeli shepherd boy. While bringing food to his brothers on the battlefield, he heard the giant’s challenge. With faith and courage that God would enable him to defeat this evil giant, he agreed to fight him one-on-one. Goliath laughed at him. David took his slingshot, slung a stone, and struck the giant in the forehead. He instantly fell to the ground–dead.
As a young shepherd boy he was anointed to be the future king of Israel. During his reign he committed adultery with Bathsheba who was married. When Bathsheba became pregnant by him, he made sure her husband was killed on the battlefield to cover up her adulterous pregnancy. David repented of his sins and God used him to write many of the Old Testament’s psalms. In Acts 13:22, God calls David a “man after his own heart.”
The New Testament also tells us of imperfect individuals God chose to carry out his will.
After Jesus died and Christianity was spreading, a young very religious Jewish man named Saul believed this new faith to be a false religion and blasphemous. He persecuted the early believers, capturing and imprisoning them for their faith. Until one day when Jesus spoke to him. He became a believer, and God changed his name to Paul.
God then called Paul to be an evangelist who ended up writing most of the New Testament. The Jewish believers were terrified of Paul, not trusting the sincerity of his faith. He eventually won their confidence and their respect. Over the course of his lifetime, he was beaten, stoned, imprisoned and whipped for his faith and preaching. He continued his mission until he was executed by Rome for his faith.
Were David or Paul perfect individuals? Certainly not. But they had courage and faith. And repentance. They knew they could accomplish what God called them to do, despite the seemingly absurd calling on their lives.
There are numerous examples of imperfect men and women throughout history who were called and used by God.
1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
I believe God looks for people He can use that possess courage and faith no matter their imperfections. No matter their pasts.
Let’s always keep our eyes open to what God wants to do, especially when he chooses the perfect imperfect person to do it. We wouldn’t want to miss what God is doing. Now would we?
Mary Therese Hutchinson 