Have you ever been so broken, shattered into zillion little pieces, that you were sure there was no hope for you? Or are you heart-broken right now? There’s good news for broken people! In Jesus all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies! There’s hope because of Jesus’ blood that poured down from the cross!

He [Jesus] was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.(Col. 18-20, MSG)

And that’s not the end of it. God really uses broken things as Vange Havner points out: “God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.”    

God loves broken-hearted. God loves hopeless. God loves you and me. God’s love is not conditional. We can be broken, blemished or beaten and still God just simply cherishes us as his children. He is happy to heal us, create something new and beautiful from our broken pieces if we let him.

Brokenness is not just a condition to be fixed. Brokenness opens us to the value of the blood of Jesus.  Brokenness opens us to God. “Brokenness is the stripping of self-reliance and independence from God. The broken person has no confidence in his own righteousness or his own works, but he is cast in total dependence upon the grace of God working in and through him,” states Nancy Leigh DeMoss “True brokenness is a lifestyle – a moment-by-moment lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of my heart and life – not as everyone else thinks it is but as He knows it to be.”  

True brokenness is indeed a life-style. It’s surrendering to God for being used for his glory.
True brokenness is surrendering to see the world and ourselves through the eyes of God.
True brokenness is living in the healing presence of the Holy Spirit.
True brokenness is being cradled in God’s grace.
True brokenness is Christ living in you.

Yes, there’s plenty of beauty in brokenness. 

Gracious God,
Thank you that you don’t waste anything.
Thank you for seeing us as diamonds in rough
when we see ourselves as useless, broken cast-aways.
Fill us with your Spirit.
Use us to create beauty for you.
Glue us together for your glory.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen


Q4U: How has God used your brokenness for his glory?

Blessings to you, my fellow pilgrim, as you claim your beauty as God’s child!

If you’re interested in reading more posts on brokenness, head over to One Word at a Time: Brokenness Blog Carnival graciously hosted by Bridget Chumbley. Read & be blessed!

Photo courtesy of Zane DeGraffenried