Allow God’s Light to Shine Through Your Brokenness
Are you too broken?
Do you ever think you are too broken for anything good to come from you? I think we all have moments where we can’t imagine a time when we will overcome the difficulties of our past or current circumstances. We just can’t see any possible way that anything good could ever come out of our brokenness. We need to break off the brokenness!!!
Personal testimonies of overcoming adversity are powerful to strengthen others
We have all heard amazing stories of triumph over adversity. Aren’t those the stories that make you believe anything is possible? Listening to the testimonies of people who were able to use the broken pieces of themselves to strengthen others is always a thing of wonder. God uses our broken pieces. He never leaves us where we are.
God sees us as we are, loves us as we are, and accepts us as we are, but by His grace, He does not leave us as we are. - Timothy Keller
When someone trusts God to strengthen them and carry them through a difficult trial; that is one of the brightest ways God shines his light through us. This light becomes a beacon of hope for people still in the trenches of their own despair; they look to and know that there WILL BE a better day.
Luke 8:16
No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.
When we trust God to prevail over our circumstances and heal us from our past hurts it is one of the most powerful actions we can take to share the love of our heavenly Father. When we have overcome difficult challenges it allows us to have compassion for those enduring similar circumstances that we would otherwise be unable to relate to. However, because of our deep, personal understanding of the struggles of that challenge our empathy also runs deep. It allows us a unique position to extend a sypathetic hand up to help them overcome the same trials.
The Japanese art of Kintsugi showcases the broken
In Japan there is an art known as Kintsugi or Kintsukuroi that joins the broken pieces of pottery or china back together with gold. The repaired pieces are considered more valuable than the original pieces because they have a history. They are deemed more beautiful because they have a story to tell and the gold literally showcases the previous trauma. Each piece is considered more beautiful because it was broken.
What if our brokenness made us more beautiful?
How different would we view ourselves if we believed we were more beautiful because of our brokenness. What if we used God’s light to showcase our cracks? Truly if you think about it we are more beautiful because we have trusted God, leaned in to him and overcome adversity. I have often joked that my whole goal in life is to be bored one day. Seriously though, how dull would that be? We would all be pretty boring if everything had always gone in our favor our entire life. Instead we have been strengthened by our circumstances and can thus shine God’s light to those around us.