Broken...

A world that celebrates success doesn't see value in broken things. But God brings beauty out of brokenness. For a plant to rise from the soil the seed must be broken. For a baby chick to experience larger life the shell must be broken. Even a thoroughbred horse must be broken; it must learn to respond to the tug of the rein and the sound of the master's voice. Getting the idea? After a humbling encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road, Paul re-evaluated all the religious activity he once boasted about and called it "dung" (Philippians 3:8). And you don't brag about dung, you're repulsed by it.

Brokenness is the work of God by which He strips us of self-sufficiency so that the character of Christ may shine through us. Now don't misunderstand; being broken doesn't necessarily mean experiencing some tragedy. Many people suffer tragedy without drawing closer to God or even acknowledging Him. Indeed, the same sunshine that melts the butter hardens the clay. The issue in brokenness is not so much our circumstances, but our response.

What is God trying to teach us? True brokenness is when He strips us of self-sufficiency to the extent that we've no strength left to fix ourselves. When God blocks every exit we try to take and we come to see that He alone is our answer, we make a life changing discovery. "And what's that?" you ask. When God is all you have - God is all you need! Bottom line: God's power is reserved for those who have given up trying to do it in their own strength or to accomplish it for their own ends!

I've recently begun to "take off my mask", exposing my brokeness, my imperfections, my human-ness. And rather than being woe-is-me about it all, I want to embrace it, reveal it, use it. I firmly believe that God uses brokeness, we are all broken after all, and all I have to be is willing. Willing for Him to break me and mould me how He wants. I think its okay not to want to, to be scared. Being totally okay and content is different from being willing. I think brokeness is a gift, in a way. Theres nothing like being totally isolated, totally out of options, and all you can do is lean on God.

You'll never know that God is all you need, until He's all you've got.

x becks