Journey into Lightl

I told some church leaders this week that one of the biggest reasons I thought that God was using their church so much was because they were broken people. They knew they could not do it, but God could. They lived the truth that “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Someone once said, “God loves to use broken things.” One of the biggest obstacles that we have to being used by God is our determination to run from our brokenness. How can God use us if we refuse to acknowledge our brokenness and allow him to empower us?

We often refuse to accept the truth that we cannot do one thing that lasts for eternity without God using us. ”Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But we continue striving to make things happen. We refuse to recognize that only God can make things happen. God tells us to “Ceasing striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

I think that many of us are deceived into thinking that we are strong, good, and capable people, all by ourselves. We think we can do great and mighty things, with just a little help from God. We often miss the truth that without God leading the way we are “miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Revelations 3:17) in accomplishing God’s work.

One big reason that many of us are deceived is that we have been trained in moralism. This training leads us to believe we are pretty good in our own strength.  It leads us away from living in our brokenness. It leads us to refuse to accept the reality that “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit “ (Zechariah 4:6).

Peter was ready to be used by God when he was broken. He realized that he could not serve God in his own strength when he denied he knew Jesus three times (Luke 22:62) Then, God used him to lead 3,000 people to Christ.

What a gift God gives for us to know and accept our brokenness. May we be like Paul and embrace our brokenness (2 Corinthians 12:10). May we be deceived no longer. God wants to use broken things!

An Application Exercise

Thank God for the things in your life right now that make you feel broken. Ask God to use this brokenness to transform you and to minister to others.