The Stories of Christmas | Waiting for Perfection

Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 (NLT)

The writer of Ecclesiastes presents us with a vivid picture. Imagine a farmer standing at the edge of their field, seeds in hand, staring at the sky. They're looking for the perfect weather conditions. Not too much wind. Not too many clouds that might bring rain too soon. Everything has to be just right.

But here's the problem: If they wait for perfect conditions, they'll never plant. And if they never plant, they'll never harvest. The farmer who waits for perfection ends up with an empty field and an empty barn.

The ancient wisdom here is pretty straightforward: Perfect conditions rarely exist. There's always going to be some wind. There's always going to be some uncertainty about the weather. There's always going to be some risk involved. But if you let the pursuit of perfect conditions keep you from planting, you'll never reap a harvest.

And the same is true in our spiritual lives. If we wait for perfect circumstances, perfect feelings, or perfect confidence before we step out in faith, we'll spend our whole lives standing at the edge of the field with seeds in our hands.

Perfectionism is sneaky. It masquerades as wisdom, caution, or high standards. It tells us we're just being responsible by waiting until we're really ready. It convinces us that we're honoring God by wanting to do things excellently.

But perfectionism isn't about excellence. It's about fear. We're afraid of looking foolish. We're afraid of making mistakes. We're afraid of being judged. We're afraid of failing. So we tell ourselves we're not ready yet, and we wait...and wait...and wait. But while we're waiting for perfect, real opportunities to serve God and love others are passing us by. Real chances to make a difference are slipping through our fingers. 

Because the reality is that God doesn't wait for us to be perfect before using us. If God waited for perfection, none of us would ever be used. Abraham would've never left his homeland. Moses would've never confronted Pharaoh. David would've never been king. Peter would've never preached at Pentecost. Paul would've never planted churches.

God uses imperfect people doing imperfect things. That's actually kind of his specialty.

Look again at what Ecclesiastes says: "Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both."

In other words, plant the seed. Take action. Start somewhere. You don't know which efforts will bear fruit, but you can be certain that seeds you never plant will never grow.

And notice something else in this passage. It acknowledges uncertainty. "You cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things." We don't always know how things are going to turn out. We can't control all the variables. We can't eliminate all the risks.

But that's okay. That's actually part of faith. Faith isn't about having all the answers or knowing exactly how things will work out. Faith is about taking the next step even when we can't see the whole staircase. Faith is about planting seeds even when we don't know exactly what the harvest will look like.

So what have you been putting off because you're waiting for perfect? What step of faith have you been avoiding because you don't feel ready? What has perfectionism been keeping you from starting?

Whatever it is, I want you to know that you don't have to wait until you have it all figured out. You don't have to wait until you feel confident you won't make mistakes. You can start now, imperfect and uncertain, and trust that God will meet you in the middle of it.

So plant the seed. Take the step. Start somewhere. And trust that God can work through your imperfect efforts in ways you never imagined possible.

Prayer

God, I've been letting perfectionism hold me back. I've been waiting for ideal conditions, perfect confidence, and the guarantee that I won't fail. But that's not faith—that's fear. Help me to release my need for perfect and embrace your invitation to start somewhere. Give me the courage to plant seeds even when I can't see the harvest. Remind me that you use imperfect people doing imperfect things for your perfect purposes. Help me to start today. Amen.