Many of us have believed statements that sounded wise but simply were not true. One old poem declared, “The bird with the broken wing will never soar as high again.” That may apply to birds, but it does not apply to the people God uses.
Scripture tells a very different story.
Abraham lied more than once to save himself, yet he became known as the friend of God. Jacob deceived his brother and fled in fear, yet God changed his name to Israel. Rahab lived in Jericho’s red-light district, yet God used her to save His servants and placed her in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Jonah ran from God, yet preached one of history’s greatest revivals. John Mark deserted Paul on a missionary journey, but later Paul said, “Bring Mark with you, because he is helpful to me in ministry.”
Broken wings still fly in the kingdom of God.
Perhaps the clearest example is Moses. At forty, he believed he was ready to deliver Israel in his own strength. Instead, after killing an Egyptian, he fled into the wilderness as a wanted fugitive. For forty years he lived in obscurity as a shepherd in Midian. No spotlight. No position. No recognition. Just ordinary days tending sheep in the desert.
Moses probably thought his life and calling were over.
Then came the burning bush.
What strikes me most is that God appeared to Moses on an ordinary day. No warning. No dramatic buildup. God simply interrupted his routine and called his name.
By then, Moses was no longer the confident prince of Egypt. Forty years of failure, silence, and obscurity had humbled him. When God called, Moses did not present a résumé or list his accomplishments. He simply answered, “Here I am.”
That is often exactly where God begins.
We tend to think our failures disqualify us, but God specializes in using cracked vessels. The apostle Paul wrote, “We have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). The value is not in the vessel itself, but in the treasure inside—the light and glory of Christ.
Sometimes the cracks in our lives become the very places where God’s grace shines brightest. One of the greatest mistakes we make is believing we are too damaged, too ashamed, too old, or too far gone for God to use. Moses was eighty years old when God called him from the desert. His past did not disqualify him; it prepared him.
God is not searching for perfect people. He is looking for humble, available hearts willing to say, “Here I am.” Your failures are not the end of your story. Allow God to write the rest of your story.
The God who called Abraham, Jacob, Rahab, Jonah, Moses, Peter, and Paul continues to call broken people today. He still restores, redeems, and uses ordinary individuals to accomplish extraordinary things.