Episode #44 Discover Beauty and Blessing in Brokenness – What God Sees

Our society values new and flawless. When things break, we often throw them away and replace them with a new version. Even things that aren't really broken just feel outdated or no longer in trend or not the newest model can quickly get replaced. We look for strength and want to disguise our weakness. We don't want to be in need and can be fearful that if we expose our vulnerabilities, we'll be taken advantage of or rejected.

We tend to see brokenness as entirely unacceptable. But today I want to talk with you about how God sees brokenness. About ways that he wants to draw us closer to himself, in our places of need. We can receive the beauty that he has for us, even in the brokenness.

One of the examples of this comes from the Beatitudes, which we have recorded for us in Matthew chapter five. And I'm not going to read the whole passage for us today, but I will reference a few verses, Matthew 5:1-4,6.So this passage comes from when Jesus is teaching the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first time he's teaching in public ministry, and it says,

"Seeing the crowds. He went up on the mountain and when he sat down, his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them saying:

'Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted…Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.'"

Theologian Henry Nouwen has a great quote that relates to this topic, and he says, "Jesus didn't say blessed are those who care for the poor. He said, blessed are we where we are poor. Where we are broken. It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself."

I was talking with God about this recently as I've been going through a season of mourning. And there are so many things that I can see in pain, in my loss, in my grief, that I wouldn't deem beautiful. Places where the grief can be so heavy where I know that I can't handle things on my own and I get to rely on God. And I realized multiple times in different circumstances, and in fresh new ways, that God doesn't hesitate to enter into the broken places with us. And we can receive the beauty that he has for us, even in the brokenness.

I am in need on a regular basis. There are frequent moments when I tell the Lord God, I need you. I need you. I know every moment I need you, but especially in this moment, I need you. And God calls that blessed. Blessed are we, when we recognize our dependence on God, how beautiful it is that we can come to God aware of our need. How wonderful it is that we can come to God with our mourning, with our grief, and he will be our comforter. How fantastic it is that we can be satisfied because we come with a hunger and thirst for right standing with God.

So today we're talking with God about areas of brokenness, about ways that he wants to draw us closer to himself, especially in our places of need.

And here's our question:

God, I see some areas of brokenness. What do you see here that's beautiful?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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