If God Only Used Perfect People, Who Would Be Left to Use?

We can become so focused on the parts of our lives that we’re ashamed of that we assume all God sees is our checkered past. So we hide and try to clean ourselves up. We carry guilt for years and often decide we’re just too far gone.

But then we open the Bible… and see that God uses imperfect people. Their blemishes, faults, and failures are right there for us to see. God didn’t hide the messy parts of their stories.

Moses

Moses killed an Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. When Moses realized what he had done was known and Pharaoh wanted him dead, he fled. Years later, God called that same Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Exodus 2:11–15; Exodus 3

David

David committed adultery with Bathsheba and got her pregnant. When his attempts to cover it up failed, he arranged for her husband, Uriah, one of David’s own mighty men, to be killed in battle.

There were serious consequences for David’s sin. But God did not erase David’s story, nor did He cut ties with him because of his failures.

2 Samuel 11–12

Peter

Peter insisted he would stand with Jesus. Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed, Peter would deny Him three times. And that’s exactly what happened. Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times, using some choice words in the process.

Jesus knew Peter would do it before Peter did it. Yet Peter’s failure wasn’t the end of his story.

Matthew 26:31–35, 69–75; John 21:15–19

Paul

Before becoming one of Christianity’s most influential messengers, Paul persecuted Christians. He wasn’t merely skeptical of Christianity; he actively tried to destroy the church. He approved of Stephen’s killing, dragged believers from their homes and had them imprisoned, and later admitted that when Christians were put to death, he cast his vote against them.

And this is the man God chose to carry the gospel to others. Paul never pretended his past hadn’t happened. He talked openly about who he’d been and the mercy he’d received.

Acts 8:1–3; Acts 9:1–6; Acts 26:9–11; 1 Timothy 1:12–16

We have convinced ourselves that God couldn’t possibly still want or love us knowing everything about us. But the truth is, He knows everything.

He knows the things we share with people, the secrets we leave out, the sins we’ve repented of, the things we still struggle with, and all the things we wish we could just erase altogether.

So we can no longer hide behind, “But you don’t know what I’ve done.”

Maybe we don’t. But what we do know is that we’re in good company.

God chose people with some pretty messy pasts. And their stories give us something we so desperately need. Proof that our past does not disqualify us from being loved or used by God.

How else could we know that He will still love us if He hadn’t given us real examples of His grace and mercy?

None of this means our choices don’t matter or that God overlooks sin. David’s story alone shows us that sin can have very real consequences. Grace doesn’t give us permission to stay where we are. But it makes room for us to become who God is calling us to be.

So maybe it’s time to stop trying to hide from a God who already knows.

We don’t have to introduce God to the cleaned-up version of ourselves.

He already knows who He’s dealing with and He still wants us.