We have all been broken at some time. We may be broken now, and there is no guarantee that we will not be broken again. Is there hope in brokenness? Can something good come of it?
Brokenness comes in many forms: emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual. We break ourselves, are broken by others, and by the world around us. This is not mere discomfort; it is real pain.
An interesting place to start as we look at the possibility that something good may come of brokenness is with this definition:
“a condition in which something is badly damaged and unable to continue or work correctly”
Pay particular attention to two points in this definition. The first is “unable to continue or work correctly.” The first clue for hope is that this “something” may work, though not correctly. The car may run but not in all gears. The athlete cannot sprint, but still may run.
The second, more important, point is “badly damaged:” not destroyed but possibly capable of being fixed.
How may we be fixed that we become whole again?
We have a God who delights in fixing our brokenness and making us whole again, but not necessarily in the original form. We can become transformed because our focus comes off of ourselves and onto our creator. This is the promise in John 10:10.
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. KJV
Other translations have “life that overflows, life to the fullest, and a great, rich and satisfying life.”
How do we meet Christ that he may come into our lives and fix our brokenness?
We meet Him through faith, faith that He is our creator, gives us purpose, and heals our hurts. Touch Christ through faith. In Matthew 9:20-22 we read,
“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’ Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you. And the woman was healed at that moment.” NIV
How much faith is enough? It is as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).
How to visualize healing through brokenness
I imagine a vessel that is leaking. I focus not so much on the leak but what is in the vessel. I am that broken vessel and what is in has been keeping Christ out. Now, as I am emptied of that, the leak—brokenness—is actually my opportunity to let the abundant life flow into me.
Hope from brokenness: a different but better me, a different but better life.
