One of the easiest lies to believe is that God will really use us once we become more mature, more disciplined, more knowledgeable, or more spiritually impressive. We imagine that usefulness belongs to some future version of ourselves who has finally conquered the weaknesses, doubts, inconsistencies, and insecurities that still frustrate us. Scripture tells a very different story. Again and again, God chooses people who are still being formed while He is already working through them.
Moses is an obvious example. When God called him at the burning bush, Moses did not respond with confidence and readiness. He argued with God, questioned his own abilities, and finally pleaded, “Please send someone else” (Exodus 4:13). Yet God did not wait for Moses to become fearless before sending him to Pharaoh. Moses would grow into leadership through the very assignment he felt unprepared to carry.
Peter may be an even clearer picture. Jesus called him while he was impulsive, inconsistent, and prone to speaking before thinking. Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ in Matthew 16:16, and only a few verses later Jesus rebuked him for resisting the way of the cross. Later Peter promised that he would never abandon Jesus, then denied Him three times before the night was over. Still, Jesus had already said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). Peter’s failure did not surprise Jesus, and it did not cancel Jesus’ purpose for his life.
Paul understood this tension personally. He could describe himself as a servant of Christ and an apostle while also admitting, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on” (Philippians 3:12). Paul was not pretending that growth was finished. He knew he was still becoming the man Christ had called him to be. His usefulness did not depend on arriving at perfection but on continuing to pursue Christ.
This is one of the most encouraging patterns in Scripture. God does not only use finished products because, apart from Jesus, there are no finished products. Abraham struggled with fear. Jacob was deceptive. David committed grievous sin. Elijah became discouraged. Thomas doubted. Timothy battled timidity. Yet God worked through each of them while continuing to work in them.
That does not mean character is unimportant or that sin should be excused. Scripture calls us to repentance, holiness, obedience, and maturity. But there is a difference between pursuing maturity and believing we must achieve it before God can use us. Second Corinthians 4:7 reminds us that “we have this treasure in jars of clay,” so that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Our weakness often becomes the backdrop against which His strength is most clearly seen.
Maybe the question is not whether you are finished. You are not. Neither am I. The better question is whether you are willing to follow Jesus faithfully while He continues His work in you. God has always used people who are still in process, and that is very good news for all of us.
