When you go shopping for something new, you look for the most scratches, stains and blemishes, right?  No!  You try to find the newest, most appealing, and of course, best deal!  No one ever wants to buy something that is already broken. 

Confession:  I am broken. 

I’ve been broken for a long time. I avoided saying it out loud in hopes no one may see my blemishes.  Asserting myself in areas I knew I wouldn’t fail in order to distract from my already tainted self.  I would even attempt to pick up my broken pieces and work to piece them back together, but even that ceased to hold.

Truth: You are broken, too.

We are ALL broken!  But did you know there is One who purposefully seeks out those with scratches, stains, and blemishes?  I can attest to this because He saw me at my worst.  My life falling apart left and right, yet He heard my helpless cry. Christ, the only One who can provide the proper healing, answered me with these simple words: You must be gracefully broken.

“Gracefully broken is to be broken by God so that He can take you to a new level with Him.  To be broken so that God can promote you and put you in a place where you can experience a new blessing, to be used and filled by Him.”
 – Siphe, Author of God’s Anointed Princess*

If you feel like you are hopelessly up against the wall, choose today to follow these next steps. Move in confidence and allow Christ to gracefully take you to a new level with Him.

Avoid the Fight, Allow for Brokenness

Our initial response generally is to fight the truth! Our sinful nature tries to keep us in the dark where our ugliness could be hidden. Just as Adam and Eve hid their nakedness in the garden because of their sin. We also fall into the snares of Satan’s lies that grow louder and louder. ‘No one will ever know.’  ‘This is just how you are. ’You did this to yourself.’  Some of our stains may be self-inflicted, but some are scars.  Scars inflicted by others, even from decades past. 

What starts as avoidance turns into denial that festers into guilt.

This leads us to battle the Enemy’s boisterously tainted truths. As we try to run from our shame, we hit roadblocks at each and every turn as we struggle to pave our own paths.

“But He gives more grace…” 
– James 4:6a

Cry Out to God in Surrender

In anguish, frustration, and despair, we cry out to God!  He hears us (Psalm 34:18) then, gracefully calls us into the light.  Here He begins to tend to each broken piece.  Honestly, this is not easy! But absolutely necessary!

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
– Hebrews 4:16

Ask and Don’t Doubt

When we cry out to God, we ASK Him to step in!  This is where the healing begins! (Psalm 147:3). Much like a broken bone, it must perfectly and carefully be set in place to correctly heal. 
Spiritually, this means when we ASK God, we DON’T DOUBT that He will heal us! Even if it hurts or may not be what we envisioned, trust me, the outcome will be even better!  Remember, we are not being reproved; we are being restored!

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind..”
– James 1:5-6

Step out in Faith

Recovering from an ailment, takes time.  As Christians, we must first, be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).  Allow the quiet time to humbly go before His throne and remedy our souls! 

One of the greatest blessings in our brokenness is Christ bought us broken!  He paid full price for our brokenness. (Luke 19:10) And knowing that, genuinely believing that is true, means we should never question His love for us and rejoice always! (Psalm 51:8) We must step out in faith and trust His hand will always be guiding us.

“I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” 
– Hebrews 13:5b

Walk in Obedience

This is a clear vision of what it looks like to be used and filled by God!  We must humble ourselves before Him, as gracefully broken servants and strive to walk in obedience.  Meditate and quench that thirst for truth by daily pursuing His Word! His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  And when we are obedient, we experience in great magnitude an outpour of new blessings! 

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
– Acts 20:24

Friends, I strongly urge you, allow yourselves to be gracefully broken!  Yes, it may sting, but it is only temporary. (John 16:21) The end result is well worth any pain we may face because we will have an everlasting joy, an abundance of blessings and a deeper intimacy with the One who so  graciously broke us so we can be entirely redeemed!

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
– 2 Corinthians 12:9

*CHALLENGE: Are you breaking today? I strongly urge you, with my whole heart to surrender to The King! Start in PRAYER! This may be a weeping, on your knees arms wide open surrender! Allow it! Don’t fight! May the pieces fall in the hands of the True Healer! Then fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and write His Word on your heart (Deuteronomy 11:18). Day by day you will be restored!

Heavenly Father, You, Lord are gracious!  And we, Father are broken.  Your love for us is overwhelming and exceeds all we could ever imagine and need!  But it’s very difficult to see that when we are blinded by our sin!  It entangles and consumes areas of our lives that need to be filled by You and You alone.  Reveal to us Your mighty power and Your never-ending mercies!  Point us to Your Word which is truth.  Gracefully break us so You can restore us to Your perfect glory, Lord!  In Your precious Name, Amen.