Ever feel like life just isn’t fair? Yeah me too. I’m just going along, minding my own business, doing the right thing because it’s the right thing, and then BAM!!! Life slams you down.
It could be the death of a parent,
…or spouse,
…or even a child.
Or it could be an unfaithful spouse.
Or an employer who has it out for you.
Or that investment that left you unable to retire,
…or homeless.
Or how about cancer, it could be that too.
Broken
The things that leave us feeling broken are tragedies out of our control, or things that have been done against us, or a result of our own mistakes.
Tragedies emphasis our lack of control in this life more than anything else. You don’t plan for car accidents, or cancer, or for the housing market to crash. And even though it is completely out of our control, it’s easy to to question ourselves and the Lord. We start to play the “what if” game. What if we had made different choices? But we didn’t, and we are unable to undo what has been done.
Wrongs done to us or against us make us want to scream against the injustice. It’s an attack, abuse, or assault. And even though it has been done to us by someone or something else, we feel responsible. Maybe if we hadn’t taken that risk, or chosen that mate, or followed that dream then we wouldn’t be in this position of feeling broken. We wouldn’t have to feel this pain or take the first of many steps on the journey of healing.
Or maybe our brokenness is because of poor choices. The guilt is heaviest here. How long do we have to suffer the consequences? How many times do we need to say we are sorry? Probably, at least one more time…
You have taken up my cause O Lord, you have redeemed my life.
Lamentations 3:58
Redeemed
To redeem is to either compensate for bad, or to gain something in exchange for payment. In our desire to find redemption, we find ourselves asking, “What good could ever come from this?”
Know The Lord sees your hurt. He hears your groans. Believe that He wants good things for you. Trust His timing, not yours.
Confess If your brokenness is due to mistakes you have made, admit them, and apologize. And if it is possible to remedy the wrong, then do so. Your brokenness has also resulted in the brokenness of others. By confessing and repenting, you will be aiding in their redemption as well. And then please be patient with them as they are healing. Forgiveness may have happened, but trust takes longer to return.
Hope Continue to long for better things. We live in a broken world full of sin. Yet our souls were created for eternity. There will always be a yearning for more or better. Long for Jesus. Hope for His peace
Trust In the bleak hours, trust that He will redeem your story. He is faithful.
Now I’m going to tell you what you don’t want to hear. I want to be honest with you, and not mislead you in any way. It may be that the Lord will not redeem your story in your lifetime. I know that is not what any of us want to accept. We need to know that our stories may not be for our own benefit, but for those to follow. As a follower of Christ, who believes in eternity, I know that my time on earth is a vapor, a mist, and then gone. But that doesn’t mean that my actions don’t continually affect others long after I am gone. The purpose of life is to glorify God, not myself, or to have an easy, carefree life.
I know there are women reading this who have lived through domestic abuse, sexual abuse, cancer, eating disorders, loss of loved ones, affairs, physical disabilities, addiction, loss of income and homes. The list goes on. At some point in our lives, all of our hearts have been broken. He will redeem your story, and though it may not be pretty, He will make it beautiful.
Dear lady, the Lord loves you fiercely, and pursues you fiercely. He sees your brokenness, and He cares. He will mend you. He will redeem you, and your story.
Broken, but God has redeemed me.
xoxo
