Our Brokenness

Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.  1 Corinthians 15:43

Brokenness.  I was listening to the song ‘Broken Vessels’ during worship service this past Sunday, and had one of those moments where the song and my spirit seemed to unite.  The part of the song went like this:

Oh, I can see it now

Oh, I can see the love in Your eyes

Laying yourself down

Raising up the broken to life

It was the part where it spoke about ‘raising the broken to life’ that really struck a chord.  I could see someone going to bed.  Crying with tears streaming down their face onto their pillow.  Feeling hopeless and without answers.  Then Jesus sees them, and looks on them with love and compassion, and assures them that He is with them.  And as His spirit fills them, one can feel the strength coming back to answer the bell of another day.  While the prior day may have been difficult, the world cannot keep them down because we are conquerors in Christ.

So let me ask.  How are you feeling?  For some of you, this may be a tough time in your life.  There are many things that are going on, and while some things might be going just fine, something does not feel right.  For those of you that all seems fine, look around.  This is the calm before the storm.  Maybe the storm isn’t yours.  It’s your spouse, parent, sibling, or best friend.  There’s a reason this is called ‘a fallen world.’  It’s broken, and deep down, we know it.  So how can we put it all together?  The weight is so heavy!  “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

It is always important to remember that Jesus Christ is the fixer in our state of brokenness.  Today’s verse speaks of our situation in the world where we die broken down, but rise in God’s glory as we believed through Jesus.  To understand the verse, think about how we are when a loved one has passed.  I thought of my father and how strong a man he was when I was growing up.  He was a strength in the community and his home, and like God, I feared him.  But oh, how I loved him.  When he had a stroke, he was in his early 70s.  He slowly went from a tower of strength to a man in a wheelchair and then bedridden.  He was incredibly broken physically in the end, but he was forever strengthening his faith.  He would watch me grow into the Christ follower he himself was for so long, and when his calling came, I knew he was in heaven.  He, like all of us, was not perfect, but I am so proud to be called Robert’s son.

But you might ask, “What about when I am broken in spirit?”  We all have been there.  I’ve failed.  I’ve failed at times to be a good husband, a good father, a good coworker, and a good friend.  It was such a burden, I would cry incredibly saddened and broken.  But failure was where Jesus always came to the rescue.  He laid down, and raised me up in my brokenness.  Somehow, He took away the failure.  He made me a better person, and restore me where my wife, my children, my teammates, and friends think I’m actually pretty decent. My wife thinks I’m the best.  Well, she is ☺️  More importantly, Jesus knows who I am, and He knows where you are too.  You are not who this world says you are or what your failures have been.  When you are broken, Jesus will lay down with you, and say, “I am here.  Let me pick you up, and build you into the person who no army can stop.”

God did not make you to be trampled on.  Yes, we are to humble ourselves before Christ, but as our bodies are meant to break down, our spirits are meant to rise up.  If you have been feeling broken lately, know that Jesus’ eyes are looking upon you lovingly, and He wants you to take His hand and rise up!  And if you are feeling strong today, reach out to someone in their brokenness, and say, “I am with you!”  Let us rejoice that with Christ at the center of life, our spirit can never be broken.  Will you confess your brokenness to Him?  Will you extend your hand to one who is broken?  My prayer is that with Christ we can together face our brokenness.  Amen.