“ 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.”
Just this past week a couple of us here at Kidslife were talking about this topic of brokenness. We were talking specifically about how it is difficult for men to admit to being broken and needing help. That is not to say that men have a monopoly on that feeling as plenty of women struggle with that very thing as well. But this particular individual admitted that he hadn’t really realized how broken he probably was because he was keeping himself so busy and so we got into a discussion about brokenness. We talked about many things but I wanted to just share a little bit of my thoughts on this topic here!
I read a book not too long ago that shook my whole view of this idea. It is called, “A Tale of Three Kings” by Gene Edwards, and there was one line that the Lord used to open my perspective on brokenness.
“God desires a broken vessel.”
You see I had always thought that hey now that I have accepted Jesus and am trying to follow Him and do ministry I need to strive for perfection and strength and fortitude. I can’t be weak because there are many people looking to me… right? And I mean Christ Himself is watching me so I need to be strong and have it all together… right? But then here came this thought that Gene Edwards presented and I prayed about it and God helped me see something. He showed me this picture that many pastors use for sermons about, “God can use your flaws and broken pieces.” It is a Japanese art called Kintsugi; which is where a pot is broken and mended back together with gold. It makes the pot stronger and significantly more valuable. But the Lord helped me to see that I took the clay that was my life and tried to create my own thing with it. It was a mess and ugly. It needed to be fixed… It needed to be broken. And so brokenness was absolutely essential in helping me to become who I was originally meant to be. But He didn’t stop there. I got to this place of admitting and accepting that I needed to be broken, I even asked for it and wanted it. I trusted Him to be able to heal me and mend me from the brokenness that life would cause! But then I heard Him clearly ask me, “Well, what if I want to break you… What if I want to push you off the table and absolutely shatter you? Will you let me? Will you trust me that I will use my Holy Spirit to mend you and put you back together how you were meant to be with the light of my Spirit shining through the cracks?”
We have an improper view of brokenness in our culture. It is treated as a disease that needs to be healed as soon as possible. But I believe that it can truly be a blessing in our lives, as we have solidified certain habits and character traits and pathways of thinking that need to be broken and mended by His love and leading. So I encourage you today, do not run from brokenness, but on the contrary lean into it and embrace it. Give it to the Lord and allow Him to mend you, and increase your strength and value immensely.
-Kids Life Staff