As I drew near to the mid-point of my life, I began to wonder whether or not I’d used my time on earth to the fullest. I had come to know Christ at an early age—raised in a Christian home and steeped in evangelical teaching—but I wondered whether I’d made any real impact for the kingdom of God. I had learned so much through my life experience and the people God placed around me over the years, but questioned whether I’d impacted others in a tangible way? Given the failures of my past, was I even qualified to share wisdom and advice with anyone? Could I still be used by God?

You see, years ago, as a young adult, I stepped out of God’s will for a time and was living in self-centered abandon, far from the path God intended for me. I went through a painful divorce (you can read more about that here: 5 Marriage Myths Busted) and found myself as a single parent for a while. Eventually, the Lord drew me back to himself and just as the prodigal son of the Bible had done, I ran back into the arms of my Father. I am not proud of that period of my life. I knew good and well that I was not walking in the truth. Maybe you, too, can relate to wandering away from God’s path yet, feeling the pull of the Holy Spirit—convicting you and drawing you back into the fold.

If you or I have made mistakes (even big ones) in our lives, can we, after true repentance, go on to minister and function effectively in the kingdom of God? The answer is “Yes, yes, and yes!” and here is why:

1. Failure has a tendency to knock the pride right out of you!   Many of the problems we bring on ourselves are due to pride. When we are prideful, thinking that we cannot fall, or that we’re better than those who have experienced problems such as: divorce, alcoholism, drug addiction, imprisonment, spousal abuse, bearing children out-of-wedlock, or abortion—then it is impossible to effectively minister to them! When we go through the fire ourselves, we realize that we are neither perfect nor infallible. We gain an empathetic mercy that we never would have had. Through personal trials we come to understand that sin is sin, and that we are all susceptible to it, we can then minister in love and without judgement.
2. God allows the trials and failures we experience in our lives. I mean, God is in control of everything, right? He is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present—God. He did not lead you into sin but, he certainly allowed it to happen. Is it possible that he allowed it to happen for a reason—a reason that might one day change someone’s life? There is definitely someone out there who will benefit from the lessons you’ve learned— someone who needs to know there is a way forward. God can and will use the trials and issues we’ve faced—even sinful choices and decisions— to move someone else towards salvation or into a closer relationship with him.
3. There are numerous examples in the Word of God where broken, sinful (in some cases, despicable) people were used by God to do great things.  First of all, there is David, King of Israel. He committed adultery, deception, and murder, (2 Samuel 11 and 12) and yet he became beloved of God—”a man after God’s own heart”. We see his repentance in Psalm 51:1-4 when the prophet Nathan came to him after his sin with Bathsheba (“For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me”) and his brokenness in Psalm 51:10-17 (“My sacrifice, oh God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”) Then there is Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul. He is known to have persecuted Christians in the early church. Acts 9 tells of his conversion. Paul was certainly not perfect, but became a beacon of encouragement, inspiration, and teaching in the early church. In fact, he is still inspiring Christians today as they read the New Testament, much of which was written by Paul. And how about Peter? He denied that he even knew Jesus, in his very time of need—3 times! (Mark 14:66-72) He was later used by God to teach, heal, encourage, and grow the early church. And lastly, there was Rahab. She was a prostitute by trade yet she gave refuge to the Jewish spies and helped them escape. (Joshua chapter 2) She is mentioned as an example of faith supported by works in James 2:25 and is also listed in the great “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 and the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:5!  This is not even a complete list of all the broken people who God used in the Bible but, I would certainly say all of these flawed people had a great impact on the kingdom of God, wouldn’t you?

If you, my friend, have gone off the deep end, messed up, hit bottom, veered off course, God can still use you to impact the world for Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, there will be certain people that only you will be able to reach! Now, if your experience is still fresh, it may be some time before you’re emotionally or spiritually ready to share your story effectively. It really depends on whether or not you have come to terms with your issues and have viewed your experience through the filter of God’s truth. For example, several years after my divorce, the Lord revealed to me the gravity of my sin against my young husband and against God, Himself. I was broken and admitted to my culpability in the demise of my marriage. I no longer made excuses or blamed others. I looked at the situation through spiritual eyes and tried to see my former spouse just as the Lord saw him. I asked the Lord’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of my ex. There was healing for both of us.

If you are holding on to grudges, excuses, anger or bitterness, then you may not be ready to help others. Oftentimes, if we haven’t truly repented or dealt with our issues before God, we end up just airing our own gripes and enabling others to continue in their sin. In the case of divorce, for example, we may fall into the trap of simply swapping stories about how awful our spouses were, when, in fact, what is needed is for a Christian friend to steer them to the truth of God’s Word: God hates divorce but loves you. Reconciliation and healing are possible. God is more concerned with your obedience than your temporal happiness.

If you have the desire for God to use your story to minister to others, first, get right with God— in repentance, seek Him for healing and forgiveness. Then, make the attempt to mend any broken relationships. Ask the forgiveness of those you may have hurt. Forgive those who have hurt you, even if they haven’t asked for it. You will be able to help others when you have a clear conscience before God and have mended those relationships that are possible to mend. Sometimes so many years have gone by that we cannot do so, but, relationships should be restored whenever possible. And then, realize that you will never be perfect. Sin is an unfortunate reality in this fallen world. But, God uses repentant and humble sinners to share his gospel message of love, mercy, and forgiveness. Let’s face it, he has no one else to work with!

Begin now to use your experiences, good and bad, to influence and encourage others in the faith. Your particular story happened for a reason. Don’t waste it. You don’t have to be perfect to impact the kingdom. Remember the old saying,”Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” ? God uses broken, tattered and tarnished people— like he did the apostle Paul and mighty King David—to share His unconditional love with the world and bring people to faith in Him.