We all have our moments when we falter, fumble, or fail. I definitely have. But the good news is that our failures are not final. Our ideas of “failing” or “succeeding” are often built on false assumptions about the ultimate goal of our Christian race. The goal is actually not so much about what we accomplish for God, but that we are in the process of becoming more like him. While we are not perfect (only Jesus is perfect!), we persevere through failure. And we are called to press on — building our humility and reliance on him.
Perfectionism
John Maxwell
Your most important step is your first step. No one has ever won a race that didn’t get in the game. Don’t let the idea of being perfect stand in the way of getting starting.
John C. Maxwell
The object of mentoring is not perfection but improvement. Don’t feel as if you have to be flawless before you can begin to impart your wisdom and skills to others. Also, realize that the underlying purpose of mentoring is not for people to act differently but rather to become different. Such a change certainly doesn’t happen overnight; the process is evolutionary, not revolutionary.
William Law
We are looking for our own virtue, our own piety, our own goodness, and so live on and in our own poverty and weakness – today pleased and comforted with the seeming firmness and strength of our own pious tempers and fancying ourselves to be somewhat. Tomorrow, fallen into our own mire, we are dejected, but not humbled; we grieve, but it is only the grief of pride at the seeing our perfection not to be such as we had vainly imagined. And thus it will be, till the whole turn of our minds be so changed that we as fully see and know our inability to have any goodness of our own as to have a life of our own.
Richard Woodsome
It does not take a perfect church to introduce a man to the perfect Christ.
John Wimber
Learning to pray for the sick is like learning to ride a bicycle. At first, the parent runs alongside the wobbly child to prevent serious injury. …Soon he will learn to ride smoothly and safely. Learning to pray for the sick is a similar process: the first solo experiences are usually messy, but in time they become quite enjoyable. I am more interested in ministry than neatness, so I provide a place in which people know they are accepted and helped even when they fail.
Charles Stanley
God is looking for imperfect men and women who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. Christians who have come to terms with their inadequacies, fears, and failures. Believers who have become discontent with ‘surviving’ and have taken the time to investigate everything God has to offer in this life.
Gigi Graham Tchividjian
We don’t have to be perfect to be a blessing. We are asked only to be real, trusting in His perfection to cover our imperfection, knowing that one day we will finally be all that Christ saved us for and wants us to be.
Max Lucado
Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.
Francois Fenelon
People cannot become perfect by dint of hearing or reading about perfection. The chief thing is not to listen to yourself, but silently to listen to God. Talk little and do much, without caring to be seen. God will teach you more than all the most experienced persons or the most spiritual books can do. You already know a great deal more than you practise. You do not need the acquirement of fresh knowledge half so much as to put in practice that which you already possess.