Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (2 Corinthians 12:8,9 NLT)
Read: Isaiah 8, Isaiah 9, 2 Corinthians, 12:1-10, Psalms 55:1-123, Proverbs 23:4-5
Relate: We are all broken in some way. It is tempting to look at those moments when we were broken and question where on earth God was. It is easy to say God is all-powerful and all-loving, but it is hard to see how that lines up with our pain. We wonder why he didn’t step in to stop our foolishness; why the miracle we prayed for didn’t come to pass; or why He had stood by idle while we were innocent and helpless. We may see the broken pieces of ourselves as deficiencies, as reasons we are of less value to God and others. However, they are some of the most valuable assets we possess.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Paul tells us that the thorn in his flesh was a messenger of Satan. Sometimes we forget that we have a powerful enemy, and we want to blame God for the trials we face. However, you will also notice that we have a God who is more powerful than our enemy. God tells Paul that the thorn in his side doesn’t need to be removed. Hey, Paul, my grace is sufficient. My grace is enough. God’s grace is bigger than any affliction our enemy can put in our lives. Finally, God tells Paul that the weakness, remember the one that Satan sent to torment Paul, is what allows God’s power to be made perfect in Paul’s life. Yes, that very thing that was intended to torment and afflict and bring Paul low is the very thing that God uses to make His power perfect in Paul’s life.
Paul was following the example of Christ. God became a broken man, a being that was flesh, bones, and spirit, in order to save the world. Jesus prayed three times that his cup of suffering would be removed, and then he accepted the suffering as a means to bring victory over the chains that began with man’s initial fall. The damage of man being separated from God was initiated by Satan, but God used it to show man just how far He is willing to go to be with us, even in our damaged and broken state. He could have stopped Adam and Eve from eating the fruit in the garden, and save man from the pain and suffering caused by being outside of His presence. However, God knew that His grace would be sufficient. He knew that man’s weakness would allow for His strength to be perfect. God did not turn from man in his weakness, instead, he allowed himself to become a broken man in order to overcome the death and separation of sin.
React: God will use your broken pieces. You are valuable and beautiful in his sight. He has not abandoned you. He is not blind to your hurt and broken places. He became flesh and bone, and He understands being broken, and just as my brokenness has given me the gift to cry for the pain of others, do not think for a moment that God has not grieved over the damages and the hurts of His children. I don’t mean his children in a general sense; I mean you sitting right here in this room. You are the most precious individual in His eyes, and He did not look away or hide when you were losing everything. He was there, and he was filled with righteous anger at the injustice, and He was overcome with sorrow for your brokenness. And He is not a God to be overlooked; He is not a God who forgets the damages that have been done to his children. He is a God who takes what Satan meant for evil, and He turns it around to overcome the loneliness of a broken heart. God takes the broken pieces of our lives and puts them together to create people with the power to heal. He defeats the lies that are birthed in our moments of brokenness: the lies that we deserve to be alone, that we are undesirable and without value, and that we cannot be used. Those lies are defeated when we stop praying for the sting of our pain to be removed and accept the grace we are offered. God reaches in and says, “MY GRACE is sufficient for you, for MY POWER is made perfect in weakness.” If you accept his grace and embrace the broken pieces rather than focusing on your desire for God to remove them, you will see Him do mighty and miraculous things through what the devil meant to keep you weak.
Respond:
Thank you, God, for using the broken pieces of life to make something beautiful in each of us. I pray you will continually remind me to rely on you and your grace. Amen.
*This post is a slightly altered excerpt from the manuscript of my book Our Broken Hallelujahs.
THE RIVER WALK 
Exactly what I needed, tonight.
Like you and I were sitting down face – to – face…after I shared the unfolding of my … absence of the word to describe … day. :’-) TYSM. Beautiful. Needed. Impacting. ❤
This reminds me of Meredith Andrews’ song, Pieces. The message here is so true. He can indeed use our broken pieces.
Wonderful post. I look at brokenness this way: you can allow it to become a negative force in your life that will become a tool of the enemy which he will then use to discourage and tear you down,or you can allow it to become a powerful and motivating reminder of the sufficiency of God in every situation.
I have learned in my walk with Christ that I do not need every “thorn” removed in order for me to become what He wants me to become. I do however,need His grace and mercy to shelter me in those times.
Ron
“God will use your broken pieces”. Thank you for allowing the Lord to work through you. God Bless!
Beautifully done!
what a lovely pieces, its bless me so much, thanks to keep writing and giving light for the world by your blog
What a wonderful God we have the opportunity to adore! He makes something from nothing! He restores what is lost! He mends broken pieces and makes whole again! He does it all! To Him be the glory!
Beautifully put!! Plus I love this song 🙂
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Great post
Lovely song. Thanks!
I love this reminder that God uses us and loves us…broken pieces and all!
I sway between Nihilism and Christian Faith. How can God deal with your angst. Many a time my prayer has turned a deaf year. I became humiliated as I was not able to keep my word. Do I care if God cares? I do not know. I have completely backslid from Christianity. Christianity is a religion of do’s and don’ts and it’s very difficult to follow it. Even my bodily needs remain unsatisfied by a wife who is a Pentecostal puritan. I don’t know why I am writing all this. May be you can console me. Anand Bose from Kerala
If you are following a religion of do’s and don’ts, that isn’t Christianity. Yes, we do try to do right, but that is out of gratitude, not obligation. There are multiple reasons why your prayers might not be answered. James says the prayer of the righteous accomplishes much, and then teaches about repentance. Perhaps there is something that needs to be repented of. He also says that we ask but do not receive because we are asking with wrong motives. Perhaps the reason for a particular prayer needs to be re-examined. Also, God knows what is best for us and sometimes what we are asking is the worst possible thing we can receive. Perhaps we need to step back and look at the bigger picture of what God is trying to accomplish.
That said I will give you a two word prayer God will always, always answer… “Forgive me.” If that is too much to remember there is also a one word prayer He will never deny… “Help!”
God can, and does, deal with your angst. He is a very big God, and our emotions do not alter who He is.
I think you do care if God cares, or you would not have responded. He cares. He absolutely cares. You are loved by Him.
Without the thorns in our side, or worse, if they simply were removed at our beckoning then our Lord would become like a Santa Claus to us and we would eventually fall into the same situation of that old serpent the devil. Lifting ourselves up we would think that we are something or can do something. However, His ways truly are different than ours. Instead of removing the rock obstacles in our finances, our marriages, our minds, He simply raises the level of the water of life with His abundant grace in order for our vessel to float past it. Interestingly enough the rock is still there; it’s just buried! Praise Him! Our God isn’t in the thorn removing business, He’s in the grace supplying business.
I so needed to read this. Tears now flow from my eyes. God has used you, and you were open to it. I cannot thank either of you enough. My undying gratitude…
From someone feeling very broken at this time, these words bring comfort. Thank you.