Broken leaders are rarely the people we expect to admire.
Leadership culture celebrates confidence, decisiveness, and visible success. We admire leaders who appear strong, capable, and in control. Consequently, many Christian leaders assume God works the same way—that He looks for the most gifted, accomplished, and self-assured people to accomplish His purposes.
Scripture tells a very different story.
Again and again, God chose men who had reached the end of themselves. Before He expanded their influence, He reshaped their hearts. Before public ministry came private surrender. Before great victories came seasons of failure, waiting, discouragement, or weakness.
That pattern should encourage every Christian leader. If you are walking through a difficult season, God may not be setting you aside. He may be preparing you for greater usefulness. Broken leaders often become the leaders God uses most because they have learned to depend on Him rather than themselves.
Why God Creates Broken Leaders
Leadership naturally pulls us toward self-reliance. Success convinces us we are capable. Experience persuades us we have the answers. Positive results tempt us to believe we are indispensable. Left unchecked, those attitudes quietly replace dependence on God with confidence in ourselves.
God loves His leaders too much to allow that to continue indefinitely. He often permits circumstances that expose our weaknesses—not to discourage us but to develop us. Throughout Scripture, before God entrusted leaders with greater responsibility, He frequently led them through seasons that stripped away pride, self-confidence, and misplaced security.
The lives of Moses, Jeremiah, Peter, and Paul illustrate this pattern remarkably well.
Moses: Broken of Self-Reliance
When we first meet Moses, he believes he can accomplish God’s purposes through his own efforts. Seeing an Egyptian abusing a Hebrew slave, Moses takes matters into his own hands and kills the Egyptian (Exodus 2). Rather than becoming Israel’s deliverer, he becomes a fugitive.
For the next forty years, Moses lives in obscurity as a shepherd in Midian. Those decades must have seemed like wasted years, but God was accomplishing something far more important than preparing Moses to lead a nation. He was preparing Moses to depend on God.
When God appeared in the burning bush, Moses was no longer the confident prince of Egypt. Instead, he asked, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Exodus 3:11). The man who once acted impulsively now understood his own inadequacy.
Ironically, that was precisely when God chose to use him. The wilderness stripped away Moses’ confidence in himself and replaced it with confidence in God. Broken leaders discover that effectiveness begins where self-sufficiency ends.
Jeremiah: Broken Through Discouragement
Jeremiah’s ministry was anything but successful by human standards. God called him to proclaim difficult truths to a nation determined not to listen. He endured ridicule, rejection, imprisonment, and constant opposition from those he sought to help.
At one point, Jeremiah became so discouraged that he wished he had never been born (Jeremiah 20:14-18). He even considered remaining silent because faithfully proclaiming God’s message had become so painful. Yet he confessed that God’s Word was “like a fire shut up in my bones” (Jeremiah 20:9), and he could not remain silent.
Jeremiah teaches us that brokenness is not always the result of failure. Sometimes it comes through faithfully serving God while seeing little visible fruit. Many Christian leaders know that feeling. They work diligently, remain faithful, and wonder whether their efforts matter.
Jeremiah reminds us that God measures faithfulness differently than the world measures success. A broken heart that remains obedient is often more valuable to God than impressive results.
Peter: Broken Through Failure
Peter was bold, passionate, and confident. He sincerely believed he would never abandon Jesus. Even if everyone else failed, Peter was convinced he would remain faithful.
Within hours, however, he denied even knowing Christ three times.
That failure shattered Peter’s confidence. Everything he believed about himself came crashing down. Yet Jesus did not reject Peter. Instead, after His resurrection, Jesus graciously restored him and recommissioned him to “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17).
Peter never forgot that experience. The arrogant disciple became a humble shepherd. The man who once trusted his own strength learned to depend on God’s grace.
Many leaders fear failure because they believe it permanently disqualifies them. Peter’s story demonstrates otherwise. Failure surrendered to Christ often becomes the very experience that develops compassion, humility, and wisdom. Broken leaders become better leaders because they never forget how much they themselves have been forgiven.
Paul: Broken Through Weakness
If anyone appeared qualified for leadership, it was Paul. He possessed education, influence, determination, and extraordinary ability. Yet God continually reminded him that ministry depended on divine power rather than human talent.
Paul wrote of a “thorn in the flesh” that he pleaded with God to remove. We are never told exactly what it was, but we know God’s answer: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Instead of removing Paul’s weakness, God transformed its purpose. What Paul viewed as a limitation became the very means by which God’s power was displayed.
That lesson runs contrary to everything our culture teaches about leadership. We try to hide our weaknesses, while God often uses them to magnify His strength. Broken leaders stop trying to appear impressive and instead become living testimonies of God’s sustaining grace.
What Broken Leaders Teach Us Today
If you are facing disappointment, criticism, uncertainty, failure, or prolonged waiting, resist the temptation to conclude that God has abandoned your leadership. He may be doing His deepest work beneath the surface.
Brokenness is rarely pleasant, but it often becomes God’s classroom for developing humility, patience, compassion, and unwavering faith. Those qualities cannot be learned from books or conferences alone. They are usually forged through experience.
Ask yourself: Where is God inviting me to depend on Him more fully? What part of my leadership still relies on my own strength? How might this difficult season be preparing me for greater usefulness in His kingdom?
Conclusion
The Bible’s greatest leaders were not remarkable because they avoided hardship. They were remarkable because they allowed God to transform them through it.
Moses emerged from the wilderness prepared to lead a nation. Jeremiah remained faithful despite relentless discouragement. Peter became a courageous shepherd after experiencing devastating failure. Paul learned that God’s power shines brightest through human weakness.
Perhaps that is why God still uses broken leaders today. He is not looking for people who have everything together. He is looking for leaders whose confidence rests not in themselves, but in Him.
Action Steps
Brokenness becomes fruitful when leaders respond intentionally.
- Identify one area where you are relying more on yourself than God.
- Journal about a difficult season and what God taught you through it.
- Share one leadership failure with someone you mentor.
- Spend time praying for humility rather than success.
- Ask God how He wants to use your current struggle for His purposes.
Discussion Questions
Before discussing these questions, reflect honestly on where God may currently be shaping you.
- Which biblical example of broken leadership resonates most with you?
- How has hardship changed your leadership style?
- Why do leaders resist weakness?
- What does dependence on God look like in practical leadership?
- How can broken leaders encourage others more effectively?
More Articles
I have written several articles on dependence on God. You can find them by typing ‘Dependence on God’ in the search bar. Meanwhile, here are a few of the most recent articles.
- #691: When “It Is Well” Isn’t: Leading with Faith in the Face of Crisis
- #687: When “Perhaps the Lord” Is Enough: Leading with Faith in Uncertain Outcomes
- #686: The Danger of Hesitant Obedience to God
- #680: Spirit-Filled Leadership: Why Christian Leaders Must Be Led by the Holy Spirit
- #674: Killing Our Giants: Stepping into God’s Best for Your Life
Join the Conversation
As always, we welcome questions and comments. Which biblical example of broken leadership resonates most with you?
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Category: Personal Development | Dependence on God
