Beauty In The Broken

There are two types of people in the world...

There are those who cry out to God and profess their love and devotion in the hard times and times of need, but ignore Him when life is going pretty swell. 

Then there are those who turn and worship God when the blessings rain down, but bail when it gets tough. 

Neither of these places are good to be in. I'm not saying this is a constant attitude in your walk with God; just a tendency toward one end of the scale than the other. 

I'm in the second category.

With the realization that all good things come from above, it's easy to give praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when you feel #blessed. But when hard times come or things don't seem to be going your way, the presence of God is questioned in the midst of the mess. Suddenly it's easier to feel betrayed and frustrated at the lack of understanding in what is happening and why. 

I used to pray that the Lord would just zap away my pain in a matter of moments. I believed in faith in the power of Christ to bring healing in my brokenness. I wanted out of the painful season as soon as possible, and so that would be my prayer... God just wash away the pain, take me out of this now. 

But over time, the Lord has taught me something so incredibly sweet about His character in the midst of pain.

In praying for instant relief, I think sometimes we rob Him of the chance to minister to our need and our hurt. We miss out on allowing the Lord to meet us where we're at and show us the abundant love and empathy He has for us. His goodness is on display when we're actually able to experience the depth of His love. How would we know the depth of His character as greatest friend, counselor, joy, peace, lover of our soul if we didn't experience Him at our lowest point?

If you've ever heard the phrase "There is beauty in our brokenness" or that there is "beauty in our pain," this is what that phrase means to me. No one looks at brokenness and sees something beautiful and desirable. But if Christ is at the center of our broken hearts and messy lives... that's where we'll find overwhelming, overflowing beauty. The glory of Christ is magnified when on display right smack in the middle of the mess.

The reality is that most of the time, there is no instant relief or quick fix to get us out of a painful situation. So instead of waiting with impatience or wishing our lives away, my challenge is this:

Ask the Lord to come and just be with you. To hold your hand and be a very present help in time of need. To show you what He means when He says He is our Father, a wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace. Let His characteristics as a Provider, a Shepherd, and a Friend take on a whole new meaning in your life. 

I'm not going to minimize the trials your life may hold or say that pain gets any easier to go through. But there is a certain joy that can reside in our hearts in knowing the intimacy we can have with the Lord in this season. What an opportunity to come out on the other side knowing God more fully and being able to share a testimony of who He is and what He's done for you. 

I encourage you to run to Him in the good times. Dance and shout and praise Him for every good and perfect gift.

And I encourage you to run to Him in the tough times. Especially in the tough times. In fact, don't just run, sprint. Crash into His open arms and be loved. 

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." - Psalm 46:1 ESV

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace and help in time of need." - Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV