God Uses Mistakes

2 Corinthians 12:9 – Each time he said, "My gracious favour is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. (NLT)

Matthew 5:3 – God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. (NLT)

2 Corinthians 4:7 – We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us. (CEV)

I once worked for a few years as the secretary of my church. There are many good reasons why a church secretary should not be a member of the church she serves. The congregation works overtime proofing her work. No matter how hard I tried, inevitably a mistake would surface in the bulletin or newsletter. (This was in the days before spell-check.)

One day, seeing I was nearly at the end of my endurance, my pastor spoke to me. "How do you know God is not using you through your mistakes? This might be His way of keeping you humble."

This opened up a new way of looking at my mistakes. If I were perfect, I might be looking for a better-paying job rather than trying to improve the level of expertise I possessed. Our greatest weakness can become our greatest strength if we allow it to drive us closer to the Lord. In perfection, pride raises its head. If a tiny imperfection creeps in, we defend it rather than learning from it.

This is not to say we are to accept our mistakes and do nothing about them, but we are to try to correct them with God's help. When God works through us, there's never any doubt about to Whom the credit is given.

Prayer: Lord, mould us, as You would common clay, into vessels that will reflect Your light. Remove our pride and use our mistakes to make us better Christians. Amen.

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