I am now on my THIRD time through the devotional, Streams in the Desert. As with so many things I read nowadays, I don’t always retain what I’ve read or remember it a year later. Such was the case with a particular reading last week. It was powerful and spoke directly to my heart as though reading it for the first time.
Unfortunately I can’t credit an author directly because so much of this devotional is a conglomeration. So I will just have to trust that whoever penned these words would be blessed to know that I found them insightful enough to share with all of you! And consequently, most of this post is my paraphrase of what was written in that day’s devotional.
The author was making the point that the Bible is full of examples of how something or someone wasn’t used of God until it was broken. I was surprised at the sheer number of them – most in situations where I wouldn’t have made that connection.
It wasn’t until…
- Jacob’s hip was wrenched out of place when he was wrestling with God that Jacob was subsequently clothed with God’s power (Gen. 32:25).
- Moses struck the rock in the desert, breaking its surface, that the cool water flowed for the people thirsting for refreshment (Ex. 17:6).
- Gideon’s 300 soldiers broke their jars that the hidden light from their torches shown through (Judg. 7:19).
- The poor widow broke the seal on her last jar of oil that God miraculously multiplied it and provided means of support for her and her son (2 Kings 4:1-7).
- Jesus broke the five loaves that the bread was miraculously multiplied to feed over 5,000 people (Luke 9:16).
- Mary broke her beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume, destroying its future value, that the fragrance filled the house (Matt 26:7).
- Jesus’ body was broken by thorns, nails and a spear that the Holy Spirit’s power was poured out and God’s redeeming salvation story came to glorious fruition.
Even the non-biblical, but God-ordained example of the kernel of corn that must be buried, broken and essentially dead in the dirt before new life can miraculously sprout from the ground.
Think God has a message for all of us through these examples? I’m convinced of it.
How is your life today? Does it feel broken in any way? Or too many ways to count? If so, then you’re in exceptionally good company and are in a position where God can most effectively use you.
There’s a large part of me that wishes this truth weren’t true. I want to be used of God without any pain or trials or difficult lessons. I want him to use me in a world that is all joy and puppy dog tails. But clearly that’s not how God chooses to use us most effectively. And honestly, who are we to argue with God’s methods? As God said to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” Yeah, I guess God’s got me there.
Aren’t we in awe of people who have suffered unimaginable tragedies in their lives and continue to be a bright light to those around them? Isn’t that infinitely more powerful than experiencing the light from someone who has always lived in it? Where’s the contrast in that?
And more importantly, what need do we have of God if we can muster up our own light because we’re living in happy days? That, my friends, is the essence of why God chooses to use us through our brokenness. It’s where our need for him is greatest and where he can then receive his due glory.
But that really only works if we’re willing to see his purpose in and through our pain. Look to see how he wants you to turn to him and trust him in your brokenness. Then experience the gushing of his cleansing stream, just like Moses and the people of Israel in their desert. God isn’t done performing those kinds of miracles in the hearts and lives of his children.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:17