In 2005, Max Lucado, 68, who today serves as the teaching minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, TX, was called the “best preacher in America” by Reader’s Digest.

He has written over 100 books which have sold over 145 million copies worldwide.

Yet despite this outward appearance of success, in his most recent book, God Never Gives Up on You, Lucado shared a dark secret to the world, CBN reports.

At around age 50, he began drinking beer in order to cope with the stresses and demands of both his teaching and publishing ministry.

“The staff needed me. The pulpit required me. The publisher was counting on me. The entire world was looking to me. So, I did what came naturally. I began to drink,” he wrote. “Not publicly. I was the guy you see at the convenience store who buys the big can of beer, hides it in a sack, and presses it against his thigh so no one will see as he hurries out the door. My store of choice was on the other side of the city lest I be seen. I’d sit in the car, pull the can out of the sack, and guzzle the liquid until it took the edge off the sharp demands of the day.”

It was during one of these moments as he sat in the car that he had an encounter with God similar to the night that Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32:22-32).

“The wrestling match lasted for the better part of an hour on a spring afternoon,” continued Lucado. “God didn’t touch my hip, but he spoke to my heart. Really, Max? If you have everything together, if you have a lock on this issue, then why are you hiding in a parking lot, sipping a beer that you’ve concealed in a brown paper bag?”

As a result of this encounter with the Holy Spirit, Lucado would confess his struggle with alcohol to the church leaders and later the full congregation.

And what he learned through this is that no matter what we do or how we struggle, God doesn’t give up on us.

Later, he would survey nearly 10,000 people to determine how they spiritually felt about themselves in the eyes of God:

• 92% stated they belong to the “Tilted Halo Society,” versus the “Super Saint Association”; and
• 50% felt that they had failed too many times to be used by God.

Half of those surveyed felt they could not be used by God because of their previous failure and sins.

Yet, when you read the stories of the great men and women of faith in the Bible, the one thing that is always included is their failures.

They are not portrayed as superheroes.

Whether it was David’s adultery and murder, Samson’s lust, Abraham’s lying and lack of faith, Joseph’s arrogance, Samuel’s unwillingness to deal with thieving sons, or Peter’s denial of Christ, their failures are revealed for everyone to see.

Yet through it all, God used them.

READ: ‘God Never Gives Up on You’: Max Lucado Reveals He Fought a Secret Battle with Alcohol