You might have heard aphorisms such as “perfect is the enemy of good” and “done is better than perfect.” Do you agree with these? If you have perfectionist tendencies, you’re probably thinking ‘why stop at good when I can be perfect’? Or ‘what’s the point of just doing a job if it’s not done to perfection’? Indeed there are times when it is good to aim higher, to push for improvements, to want the ideal.

However, what happens when we find ourselves at a bus stop, waiting endlessly for the bus of perfection to come, but it’s taking forever to show up? When we don’t allow ourselves board any other bus on our journey, despite how many pass us by, because no other bus apart from that perfect bus will do? When the more we drive towards Utopia, the further away it seems?

Have you ever felt like God is asking you to do certain things, and in your heart you really want to do them, but you also find yourself saying that things need to be at a certain ideal state first, before you proceed? If you’ve found yourself thinking, ‘once I’ve sorted this out’, ‘once I’m at this level in life’, ‘as soon as I improve in this area’, or other similar thoughts, please read on.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) says, “But He (Jesus) 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Recently I’ve had two prompts that made me really reflect on this desire for perfection before action, and write about it.

The more recent one happened when I was thinking about the story of Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Syria, documented in 2 Kings 5. Naaman suffered from leprosy and desired healing. Thanks to one of his wife’s maids, he found out about Elisha. Elisha invited him to receive healing, but a problem arose. Elisha had sent him to wash in the Jordan, and he was not pleased about that at all. Why? River Jordan was not famous for its purity or cleanliness. “But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.” (Verses 11-12, ESV).

Eventually, after some persuading, he reluctantly agreed to go and wash in the River Jordan. Verse 14 (ESV) records that “he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” What came to my mind that day was the fact that the River Jordan did not have to be perfect, pure or appealing to bring healing. As such, we can bring healing to people just as we are, when we are fully submitted to God’s will, plan and purpose for our lives, while Christ continues to work His work in our lives.

I’ve shared this one in a previous blogpost ‘I come bearing fruit‘, but I’ll quote it here again, “While praying and worshipping during a Church service one Sunday, my eyes were drawn to a corner where some string light bulbs were bundled together and had become a tangled mess. For want of a better picture, imagine multiple earphones with fairy lights attached to them bundled together and entangled. What was amazing about those bulbs though was that even in their tangled mess, they were still shining brightly. So much so that my eyes were drawn to them, not minding their messy state. I learnt a lesson from that picture: Even in the mess, we can still shine for Jesus.”

As such, we don’t need to wait to be perfect and pure before we do what God calls us to do. We can be messy and be effective for Jesus. We do not have to be appealing to humans or to be perfect. I don’t know anyone who is perfect. Not even the most anointed priests were, as multiple stories in the Bible confirm. We are all being moulded day by day. In fact I remember someone once saying ‘Can you imagine how annoying you would be if you were perfect?’ And I found that to be so true, because you would find it hard to relate to anyone! The only person that achieved that feat is Jesus.

We may have doubts, but we won’t be the first. After God instructed Moses to tell Pharoah to let the Israelites go, what did Moses say? In Exodus 3:11, he asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” In Exodus 4:10-11a (BSB), he said: ““Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth?”” It sounds strange doesn’t it, choosing someone who seemingly isn’t eloquent to address a King. It’s not what many of us would probably do. But God had prepared Moses for this task right from the very beginning, when Moses was still in his mother’s womb. And if you read the book of Exodus, you will realise that God did give Moses the ability to speak with power and authority. Not just to Pharoah, but on various other occasions when leading the Israelites.

Gideon was another person who did not feel he was good enough. Judges 6:14-16 (ESV) tells us, “And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”” This teaches us that we don’t need perfection, we just need God’s presence. Focus on presence not perfection!

As humble as these statements may seemingly sound, in a way they are quite arrogant. When we make such statements, it is almost like we are telling God that He doesn’t quite know what He is doing when He gives us a particular assignment to carry out. We sometimes forget that He is the one who fashioned and formed us, who created our inward parts, who knit us together in our mothers’ wombs (Psalm 119:73, 139:13; Isaiah 44:24). He knows us better than we even know ourselves. As such He is more than capable of assessing whether we are the right candidate for the job. As 1 John 3:20 (ESV) says, “for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.” Or as the NLT puts it “God is greater than our feelings.”

Not only that, the root of such statements is not humility but fear. Humility submits to God’s plans in total surrender and trust. Fear tries to poke holes in God’s plans. Elizabeth Gilbert said “I think perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat, pretending to be elegant when actually it’s just terrified. Because underneath that shiny veneer, perfectionism is nothing more than a deep existential angst that says, again and again, ‘I am not good enough and I will never be good enough.”” The Bible tells us multiple times “Fear not.” This means we can make an active choice not to fear. In Mark 5:36, Jesus told the ruler of the synagogue, “Be not afraid, only believe.” The antidote to fear is trust in God.

Now this does not mean that we rush headlong into a God-given assignment without preparation. Far from it. Proverbs 14:16 (NLT) says, “The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.” In addition, Proverbs 22:3 (NLT) notes, “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 (BSB) tells us “do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.” This implies that we should strive for excellence. However, there is a difference between desiring perfection and exercising caution, or desiring perfection and working towards excellence.

As such, how do we know when we are tilting away from caution and excellence into a fleshly desire for perfection? By drilling down into our motives. Are we working as unto the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:23)? Or, is there an element of wanting to be seen as great in our eyes or in the eyes of others?

Consequently, how do we then determine when it is okay to go ahead? By going to God in prayer and allowing Him to guide us. When we seek God’s face, we will get to discover the preparations we need to make, and the people he wants to use to prepare us (if any). Also, doing so will enable us know when we have had sufficient preparation.

Different assignments may require different methods of preparation. Even the same assignment, but in a different location or at a different time may require a different method of preparation. In Matthew 10:9-10 (BSB), when Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, He said “Do not carry any gold or silver or copper in your belts. Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff; for the worker is worthy of his provisions.” However in Luke 22:35-36 (BSB), when He sent them out again, “Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. “Now, however,” He told them, “the one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one.”

The preparation process may be a long one or a short one, but the end goal is not necessarily earthly perfection. However, as long as God is the one handling the process, we can rest easy. God is not slow, but He is deliberate. God doesn’t need you to be perfect to do His work, but He can continue to perfect you as you do it. As James 1:4 (NKJV) says, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

There may be times when we need the help of others in our preparation. In 1 Chronicles 22:5 (NIV), “David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendour in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.” David was not the one to build the temple, but he had an important role in making preparations for it. David’s role made it much easier for Solomon to achieve the task God had chosen him to carry out.

Similarly, there may be times when others push us out of our reverie, such as in the case of Esther (Esther 4:9-17). She was waiting for the king to make a move first, for the timing to be perfect for her. Until Mordecai said, ““Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13b-14, NIV). The beauty of this story is that she not only listened to wise counsel, she asked for collective prayer and fasting, and joined in as well. As a result of that, the Jews experienced a great victory (Esther 9). Furthermore, even though the overall task may have felt overwhelming, there were smaller steps she was able to take to accomplish that final victory. As the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day, but bits of it were.”

There will likely also be voices discouraging us from making a move when God has given us the go-ahead, or encouraging us to make a move when God has not given us the go-ahead. Either way, we can treat those contrary voices the way we would treat a well-known busybody – Ignore, dissociate, replace. We can replace such voices with God’s voice, through His Word and His Holy Spirit.

The key is in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognise Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” (AMP). We should not let our judgement or opinions of perfection determine whether or not we can proceed. Neither should we rely on the judgement or opinions of man. Rather we should rely fully on God’s judgement of our readiness. Man can give us confirmation, but we need to get to a place where we can hear from God ourselves. Waiting for the Holy Spirit to give us the go-ahead is vital. In Luke 24:49 (KJV), Jesus told His disciples, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Again, patience, trust and obedience are key, not achieving some human standard of perfection. Remember that those disciples who were waiting to be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit were not perfect at all, but they were patient and demonstrated their trust by obeying.

I pray that as we read and reflect on this, we will learn to trust God’s judgement and timing far more than we trust our own. May we learn to pause when God wants us to, and to go in our God-given might when He asks us to. I pray that we will let go of any human standards of perfection we may have, and rely fully on God’s wisdom and omniscience. As we do so, may God use us mightily to bring healing, light, joy, hope and salvation to a world so desperately in need of it. Amen.

The image above is that of the River Jordan. Image source here.