Welcome the breaking.
“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
I heard somebody say “if God loved me, I would never go through seasons this difficult.” On the contrary, what if I told you that welcoming the “breaking” is a sweet offering to God. The phrase that comes to mind is ‘Gracefully broken’. I interpret the phrase as a state of being broken spiritually, yet finding rest in the knowledge that God’s grace is overseeing the whole process. It’s like you’re being broken of habits, ways of thinking, old relationships, etc.—but it’s not really you breaking. It’s all the things that have attached themselves to you since you entered the world. See, when God formed you, you were without insecurity and disease; without depression and loneliness. You were whole and complete. But when you entered the Earth, equipped with a unique assignment, Satan immediately began his assignment— to kill it, steal it, destroy it, and distract from it.
Going through seasons of being broken (by God) breaks those things that have become so engrained within your identity that you had begun to accept them as reality. Let me be honest: because they’re so attached, breaking hurts. That’s where grace comes in. Grace holds the real you together as you mourn over the old pieces of yourself that crumble away. It feels like you, yourself are breaking. Grace waits patiently through your metamorphosis and provides insurance while heaven waits on the edge of her seat for you to come into the fullness of who you were called to be (Habakkuk 2:2-3).
Every misstep; every setback. Every wrong turn; every moment of despair and desire to give up- grace is being poured out on all of your inadequacies. Grace reminds you that where you are is exactly where you are meant to be in your life story. You are not racing the clock. You are not racing to earn God’s love. You won that before you even began the race. He loves you whether it takes you 5 days or 5 years. His love is not something that comes and goes based on how you do on the test.
Do not take your tainted view of love as the world has prescribed it, and try to apply it to a perfect God- whose love knows no bounds and doesn’t limit itself only to the “perfect”. Rather, the all-powerful God gets to know everything about everyone and offers up a perfect love anyway. And He chose you. YOU.
Prayer
God, thank you for loving me in the middle of my process. Thank you that there is nothing about me that surprises you. Thank you for knowing me to my core and choosing me anyway. Help me to love myself and to see myself the way you see me. Show me that your grace is enough for even my season of stretching and breaking. I love you more than my comfort. Help me to welcome the breaking so that I can come out on the other side looking, sounding, and acting more like You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
