The Brokenness of Life

This life and the heartache it can bring.  This morning during my quiet time as I prayed for others, I was reminded of the suffering which is taking place in so many lives.  I am thankful for my blessings for today, but I have had trials and suffering in my path and there will more than likely be more to come.  There are those who are struggling with sickness,  loss of a loved one, broken hearts from an unfaithful partner, struggles financially, and many others I haven't mentioned.  How do we face life when our hearts are fragmented into pieces; and we don't know how to put them back together again?  How do we face our worlds being broken before our very eyes?  I feel frail.  When I have small hurts, I initially melt before the Lord and cry out "why?".  Some of the hurt I see around me, I see as devastating.  None the less, we wake up each day and keep making our way through it. I pray I would honor God going through my really big hurts, the same way I get through my small hurts.  I cling to Him.  I ask what does He want from me?  How can I grow through this to glorify Him and His kingdom?  

Do we expect God to always give us good?  Did it feel like good when Jesus was hanging on the cross for our sins?  I saw the movie "The Passion" and it didn't look like "good" and I can guarantee it didn't  feel like "good".  The death of Christ probably exemplifies one of the most horrific deaths of all time.  My husband and I were watching a program this weekend on the "Shroud of Turin".   This is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered great physical trauma in a manner consistent with the crucifixion.  It is kept in Turin, northern Italy.  The image on the shroud is thought to be that of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and burial.  The cloth was covered with blood and you could see where marks would have been all over the body from the beating He received.  Some even say He died quickly on the cross due to the beating He took prior to being nailed to the cross.  Was He broken?  Completely.  This hurts my heart to think about. God sent His son to die this death on the cross for me because I am a sinner.  We are all sinners. Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." He died this death so we could have a relationship with a holy God.  God wanted a relationship with us and it is only through the sacrifice of His son that we can go to God and be in His presence.  Romans 5: 8-10  "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."  I thank God for the brokenness of Christ!  If it wasn't for His brokenness, I wouldn't have the gift of eternal life in heaven when I die.  John 3:36  "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." In addition, I wouldn't have the peace, joy and trust I find every day in being able to come in the presence of my heavenly Father.  Isaiah 26:3  " You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."   I wouldn't have the assurance of seeing my loved ones who also trusted in our faithful Savior and have passed away.  John 14: 1-3 " Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."  Psalm 23:6  "Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."  2 Corinthians 5:8  "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."  There are so many blessings I have today because of the crucifixion. 

Christ always leads us by example and we must also follow this example.  Let's remind ourselves when we are broken and bearing our own crosses, God wants to use that for His glory too.  We must hang on our cross, suffer the pain, trust in God through it, remain faithful to the other side of it, and let God's will be done.  Perhaps we can get through the hurt knowing some how He will use our pain to help heal another, point someone to Christ,  & save a lost soul.  Remember in the end, we can say "it is finished" too (John 19:30) .  It is then God can softly show us how He is glorified from it.  On my recent mission trip to Africa, so many of us were reminded of how God uses our hurts/testimonies to encourage others.  Sometimes our heartaches take longer than we want, sometimes we think we can't get through it, sometimes we don't understand why it has to hurt so badly, & sometimes we even want to turn away from God.  Be patient, trust, and know He is always faithful and your cross will also be used to bring Him glory.  He loves us...John 3:16.