The Broken Vessel
As soon as it happens I'm stopped in my tracks because... I'm usually barefoot.
As I tiptoe out of my mess, I go for my shoes and call out a warning, "Don't come in here, there's broken glass on the floor"! That impact has shot undetectable pieces of glass everywhere! And those tiny shards become razor blades under my feet. Sometimes I sigh, and think, "that was my favorite glass". But it gets swept up and dumped in the trash, never to be used again. Sometimes, I feel like that glass.
The Bible refers to us as vessels. A vessel that carries a very precious treasure, the presence of God. And guess what? We're His favorite glass!
As I tiptoe out of my mess, I go for my shoes and call out a warning, "Don't come in here, there's broken glass on the floor"! That impact has shot undetectable pieces of glass everywhere! And those tiny shards become razor blades under my feet. Sometimes I sigh, and think, "that was my favorite glass". But it gets swept up and dumped in the trash, never to be used again. Sometimes, I feel like that glass.
The Bible refers to us as vessels. A vessel that carries a very precious treasure, the presence of God. And guess what? We're His favorite glass!
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us...
We're afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but to driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:7
Like the fragility of the glass, we too, are all so delicate. Perhaps like the glass falling to it's demise, you've fallen a few times. We all have. There's a place we call "rock bottom", and it really hurts when we hit. Our hearts are very fragile, they too can be fragmented, and strewn about. The lowest place we can go is to the floor, but it can be the best place to find restoration. You see, God cares a lot about our brokenness.
The bible says, He is near to the broken hearted and saves those that are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).
He knows the heaviness of a broken heart, He hears the splitting and cracking. And He alone, can make us whole. Just like a loving parent, He comes running in to save us.
He's different. He doesn't scold, or make us feel bad, He simply starts gathering and restoring. He sees the fragments of hopelessness, the scarred pieces of failure, the sharp edges of depression and the sting of defeat. He sees everything broken in our spirit. even the hidden things.
He knows the heaviness of a broken heart, He hears the splitting and cracking. And He alone, can make us whole. Just like a loving parent, He comes running in to save us.
He's different. He doesn't scold, or make us feel bad, He simply starts gathering and restoring. He sees the fragments of hopelessness, the scarred pieces of failure, the sharp edges of depression and the sting of defeat. He sees everything broken in our spirit. even the hidden things.
And just like a gentle, loving Father, He disposes everything harmful and puts us back on the shelf of life, completely whole. Everyday we get a brand new start, with a brand new heart. Yesterdays disappointments are gone with the trash and we anticipate with new hope.
Let us never forget the power of the cross. Jesus became broken, for us. Remember, when He said, "this is my body, broken for you." (Matthew 26). He became crushed and broken for us, And by Sunday, all wholeness was restored. And since He was restored, we are restored... to a whole new life!
Though we may fall many times, we can reach for His hand.
"A righteous man may fall seven times, and rises up, but the wicked shall fall by calamity." - Proverbs 24:16
Do you remember Humpty Dumpty? He sat on a wall and had a great fall; all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Humpty together again! Men will never be able to fix us, only God can.
Do you remember Humpty Dumpty? He sat on a wall and had a great fall; all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Humpty together again! Men will never be able to fix us, only God can.
"He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds". Psalm 147:3
We have a personal Carpenter- Jesus, who puts us back together. When the devil starts speaking trash, remind him that his future is bleak, not ours. God has good plans for us. Hope filled plans. Plans to prosper us and reinstate us to perfect health. (Jeremiah 31)
When it seems like all hope is gone, look up, your Redeemer is drawing near.
"He gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that we may be called trees of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified". (Isaiah 61)
