I settle in on a lovely morning, coffee next to me, ready to begin my work for the day. Then my thoughts shift to recent mistakes I’ve made, words I wish I could unsay, things I would do differently now that I know more. I feel so human in this moment and I hear a familiar lie, “God doesn’t want to use you anymore because…”
Have you ever heard this too? We can fill in the blank in a million different ways. Because you’re broken. Because you struggle with anger, addiction, anxiety. Because you’re not spiritual enough. Because you did that ONE thing years ago that can never be erased.
Can we pause together and see this lie for what it is? An attempt from the enemy of our hearts to make us believe we’re disqualified. But when I look at the pages of Scripture, this isn’t what I see. Instead I witness God choosing the most unlikely of people.
Let’s consider two: David the adulterer and Peter the quick-tempered denier (false labels we might use as humans). What we need to see in these stories is that these people made their worst mistakes after God called them. David was a shepherd boy already placed on a throne. Peter walked with Jesus and saw miracles firsthand. And yet they still made devastating decisions.
Sometimes we hear dramatic testimonies of people whose lives drastically changed when they came to know Jesus. We can get the impression that grace is for those who don’t yet know God, but once we do, then we’d better get everything right. But grace is not just for salvation. It’s for the daily slip-ups, the ongoing struggles, the regrets that wake us up in the night.
Peter comes to Jesus and asks, “’Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?’” (Matthew 18:21). This verse makes me laugh a little because it appears Peter has HAD IT with someone. He wants to know when he can be DONE.
“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22). Most scholars believe that this is a figure of speech that implies we are to forgive an infinite number of times. We, like Peter, can come to the end of our patience or tolerance. So it’s easy to imagine God doing the same with us.
But here is the difference: we are limited and God is limitless. He doesn’t just love. He is love. He has also seen everything humans have done since the beginning of time, starting in the Garden of Eden. He has heard every thought, knows every secret. We sometimes act as if God is naïve. But He shows mercy with His eyes wide open.
We can’t shock Him so much that He will give up on us. We can’t fall so many times that He will refuse to pick us up. We can’t push Him past the limits of His love for us. When a voice whispers, “You are disqualified” or “You’ve blown it one too many times” it is not the One who calls us beloved.
What God asks of us isn’t perfection; it’s to keep showing up and trying again. When we dare to do so, God doesn’t stand back in disappointment, He rejoices like a parent watching their child learn to walk.
Wherever you are today, whatever you have done, God is not finished with you. If you have breath in your lungs, if you have grace to share, if you have a heart willing to love then He wants to use you. The stories that give Him the most glory aren’t the tidy ones; they are the ones that include two words: But God.
I struggled with something for years, but God…
I made mistakes that I regret, but God…
I wanted to give up, but God…
Where do you need a “but God” in your life right now? Pause and give Him whatever is causing you shame, guilt, discouragement, or fear. He is strong enough to hold all of it and loving enough to hold you too. He wants to use even your weaknesses and failures to show His strength and faithfulness.
