God Uses The Imperfect by Maureen Kambarami

I grew up in an unusual family. I think I was approximately 5 years old when I realized that there was something amiss about my family. However, with this realization came the feelings of shame, embarrassment, inadequacy, and unworthiness, feelings that would take many years to wear off. Throughout my primary and high school career, these feelings were my constant companion, and I did my best to conceal them from the outside world. I was a very reserved person, always conscious about the people I let into my life and how much I shared with them.

Truly speaking, I believed that nothing good could ever come out of a person with a background like mine, and not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that God could use a person like me to assist other people. However, God had other plans which he revealed when I was 16 years old. It happened by accident that when I was doing my community service after taking a gap year; I met a lady who was a victim of domestic abuse. At that moment when she narrated her sad story to me, it was as if something in me erupted. I suddenly found a voice as I advised her to get out of that situation for the sake of her children, if not for herself.

“Trust me, I know clearly what I am talking about”, I told her and went on to narrate my experiences of growing up in an abusive home. The look of disbelief changed into realization and acceptance as it dawned that our experiences were similar, and she later asked me how she could turn around her life. Here was I, a 16-year-old, advising a woman far older than I was; a mother of three, whom I gauged at the time to be in her late twenties. I had received no prior training at the time, I only boasted of experience then. That incident marked the realization of my God-given talents that I had possessed all along but had suppressed because I was ashamed of my background, not realizing that sometimes God uses our imperfections, trials, and afflictions to help others. It is through these experiences that we can help others when they go through the same experiences using the same help that we have received from Him. (2 Corinthians 1:4)

Later on, I went for professional training as a counsellor. I have realized that in my work, it is my experiences that help me get through to someone more than my professional training. Yes, the two complement each other, but often realizing that someone else had been through the same experiences and survived gives more hope and confidence in oneself and becomes a motivational factor. Now if I look back at my background (the same one that I used to be ashamed of because of its imperfections) and realize how much God has used me and is still using me to assist victims and survivors of domestic violence, one thing is clear in my mind that God does not care about perfectionism, neither does he want us to be perfect. Anyway, we can never be perfect even if we wanted to. It is who we truly are and the way we live our lives that counts before God. (John 4:23)

God does not look for perfectionism in us but looks for imperfect people who are willing to surrender to his will using their talents. Once we surrender to his will, he then uses our imperfections or shortcomings as a tool to fulfil our mission. There are many examples of imperfect people in the Bible who became great leaders despite their limitations. For example, Moses had a physical limitation. He is believed to have had stuttering problems or a speech defect yet God used him to plead with Pharaoh and ultimately lead the Israelites out of Egypt, the land of slavery. Jonah was also not perfect; he was stubborn or had character issues, even so, God used him to convince the people of Nineveh to turn from their evil ways and repent. There were, no doubt, more willing prophets during Jonah’s time, prophets who would have obeyed God instantly with no questions, but God did not choose them for the Nineveh mission. He chose Jonah.

Jeremiah is another example of an imperfect individual; he is often described as the weeping prophet as he suffered from depression (Jeremiah 20, 14-18) but God chose him despite that limitation. Paul also had pride issues, and God gave him a thorn in his side to keep him humble so he could spread the good news effectively. (2 Corinthians 12:7) All these examples show how God uses the imperfect to further his mission; it is clear that God qualifies the unqualified, and no imperfections can hinder us from achieving our mission.

Sometimes our weaknesses make us insecure to the extent that we end up feeling inadequate and doubting that God can use us, but then we must just remember that his power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) More often than not, it is when we face our brokenness that we experience God’s power, presence, healing, help and we become more useful to others, for God is close to the broken-hearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalms 34: 8) As a result, our brokenness and imperfections draw us closer to God more than our perfections do. This is because it is only when we have reached rock bottom that we often realize that we cannot overcome on our own and we need God’s help. It is when we are down and out that we see clearly, like Saul. It took physical blindness for him to see the church and God clearly, thus leading to his repentance and re-birth as Paul. What the current times have shown us is that on our own we are unable, lacking, and inadequate; we need God on our side to enable, satisfy, fulfil, heal, protect, uplift, restore—the list is endless.

Although we are imperfect, we are loved by a perfect God who uses our imperfections to heal, direct, teach and show the way to others, for his power is brought to perfection in weakness.

Maureen Kambarami

Maureen Cresencia Kambarami is a Social Worker with extensive experience in family counseling and therapy. A woman after God’s word and principles, she is passionate about writing Christian articles and believes in telling authentic stories to inspire and uplift others.