Weekly Devotional: Beauty in Brokenness

“Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.” — Psalm 30:2, NIV

Brokenness, helplessness, hopelessness: It is safe to say there is not even one person who hasn’t been touched by at least one of these things in life. Brokenness can leave us feeling beyond repair and ruined. It may even make it feel like life is a losing battle.

However, even when we feel lost or hopeless, God can use our brokenness in ways we could never imagine. It may not always feel good, and we may not get to see why we experienced certain pain while we are on Earth, but we can find peace and confidence in God’s plan and God’s love for us.

In Romans 8:18, Paul writes “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Our suffering, our brokenness and our circumstances are not the conclusion to our story. Even our mistakes or times when we strayed from where we know we should go, God can redeem all of it for His purpose. He is victorious over death, sin and brokenness.

“I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.” — Psalm 31:12, NIV

The world we live in is broken. If we go all the way to the beginning of the Bible, we find God had a perfect place for us, but humanity chose to pick the path of sin and death instead of obedience and Godliness. Now, the world is full of suffering and injustice.

However, it is not just the world that is broken. We as individuals are also broken and “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NIV). On our own we are lost and have more than a broken relationship with God, but rather a completely shattered one.

For us, fixing the brokenness and putting the scattered pieces back together is impossible. However, we have hope and a lifeline in the midst of our broken state.

“‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” — 1 Peter 2:24, NIV

There is good news. Jesus Christ is our hope, and He gave his life to mend the relationship with God that we carelessly broke. He sees us at our worst, in our brokenness and suffering and still chose to take that upon himself. What once was broken, he put back together and made beautiful.

Although our pain may not go away, our hopelessness and helplessness are replaced with hope and purpose. In times of struggle, as Christians, we can have confidence that God has a plan for us and wants what is best for us.

Perhaps, He is using our circumstances to change our hearts. Maybe, He is using us to help and be there for others. We do not have to have the answers to all our questions in the moment and it is okay to feel the hardships of the world. However, God is making something beautiful with us and giving us victory and purpose.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV

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Approved by the Global Outreach Coordinator of The Department of Spiritual Life on Sept. 15, 2022.