But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Perfect people don't need Jesus. At least, that's what they think. But here's the truth that changes everything: Jesus never called perfect people. He called messy ones. Broken ones. Failed ones. You. Me. People who have nothing to show for but were made qualified. The UNLEARN journey shows us we've been waiting for the wrong thing. We think we need to get our act together before we can follow Jesus or help others follow Him. But that's exactly backwards.

Paul had a problem he couldn't fix. He called it his "thorn in the flesh." We don't know what it was. Maybe sickness. Maybe a struggle. Maybe a weakness that embarrassed him. Maybe an irritating cellmate (LOL!) Three times he begged God to take it away. Three times God said no. In 2009, pastor Rick Warren's son struggled with mental illness. Warren, who wrote "The Purpose Driven Life," couldn't fix his own family's pain. He learned what Paul learned. Sometimes our biggest ministry comes from our deepest wounds.

God told Paul something that flips our thinking. "My power is made perfect in weakness." The Greek word for "perfect" is "teleioo." It means complete, fully expressed, reaching its goal. God's power shows up best when we're weak. Think about that. We hide our struggles. God wants to use them. We cover our failures. God wants to work through them. We wait until we're strong. God says, "I work best when you're not." Humbling.

Here's what we need to unlearn: discipleship is for people who have it all together. Look at Jesus' disciples. Peter denied Him three times. Thomas doubted. James and John had anger problems. Matthew was a hated tax collector. None of them were ready. None of them were qualified. That was the point. When weak people do powerful things, everyone knows God did it. It's about you and I being honest with God that we don't have everything figured out but are willing to be used by Him. When broken people bring healing, God gets the glory.

Your mess is your message. That struggle you're ashamed of? Someone else is fighting it too. That failure you hide? Someone needs to know they're not alone. That weakness you hate? It's where God's power shows up strongest. We think we need to be examples of perfection. But people need examples of grace. They need to see real faith in real struggles. Not fake smiles hiding real pain. Honest faith that admits weakness and points to God's strength. People want to journey with other people who don't have everything figured out but have the faith to press on. Like you and I.

Godseekers, stop waiting to be perfect. The enemy's favorite lie is "You're not ready yet." He knows that if he can keep you waiting, you'll never start. But Jesus uses cracked pots to carry His treasure. He uses limping people to run His race. He uses broken people to bring healing. Will you unlearn the lie that you need to be perfect? Will you let God use your weakness to show His strength?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for using broken people. We've believed the lie that we need to be perfect first. Help us unlearn this deception. Show us that our weaknesses don't disqualify us. It's where You show up strongest. Give us courage to be honest about our struggles. Use our mess to bring Your message to others. We're done waiting to be perfect. Use us as we are. In Your name, Amen.

Personal Reflection

• What weakness or struggle have I been hiding that God might want to use?
• How might my imperfect journey help someone else who's struggling?

Step of Faith

Today, I will stop waiting to be "ready" and take one small step to help someone else in their faith journey, trusting God to use me despite my imperfections.