Broken.
It’s not a word that most of us like.
When something is broken it means it is not functioning as it should.
Therefore, when we’re broken it must mean the same thing.
We work hard to prevent this. We try to “hold it all together” and “keeping the pieces falling into place.”
But sometimes, regardless of our best efforts, we end up broken.
We may be tempted to think this means that God has abandoned us.
We’re coerced into believing that we must have done something wrong.
All the cylinders aren’t firing and all the cogs aren’t moving forwards, and that must be against God’s plan.
And while sometimes we’re broken as a consequence of our bad and sinful decisions, sometimes it’s the work of God’s hands.
Sometimes, like in the case of Job, God has a greater purpose for our hurt and pain.
Sometimes, the goal isn’t to be whole, if being whole means we become wholly dependent on ourselves, but to be broken so that we are completely reliant on God.
Sometimes our brokeness doesn’t result in God putting the pieces back together, but in Him giving us new pieces, rearranging them, and filling in the gaps with the work of His hands.
Being broken isn’t always about us and what we’ve done. Sometimes it’s about God, and what He is doing. ..how He’s using our lives, even the broken pieces, to create His masterpiece.
It may look different from what we’ve pictured. But that’s ok – because the Audience and the Creator are One. The goal isn’t to make our lives look like what we’ve imagined, but to make our lives look like His.
And when that’s the case, even in our brokenness, our lives are made beautiful.