I was not prepared for this season because I was unusually wise, unusually disciplined, or unusually faithful. I was prepared because God allowed life to teach me slowly, painfully, and repeatedly. Much of what I now call wisdom came through failure. I learned consequence by seeing what happens when systems are neglected. I learned humility by discovering that technical competence does not equal spiritual maturity. I learned grace because I needed it, not because I had mastered it.
I was a fallen human being who tried, failed, justified himself, got back up, and slowly learned that the most important work God was doing was not merely through me, but in me.
John Hargrove Seeking Truth and Reality 