Gracefully Broken
"God's love bankrupted heaven for you. Being broken draws us to the things that matter. It refines our hearts and minds if we will let the process of brokenness work. We will start to see the beauty and freedom in being broken."
As we prepare for New Beginnings
A New Year...
A New Season...
Let's discuss the real.
Back in October, I met with the most beautiful women of God as I hosted our very first S[He] Is meeting. That night, I had the pleasure and honor of pouring into these ladies, but if I'm honest, they poured so much more back into me.
For those who are unfamiliar, S[He] Is is a faith and healing group that I started during a season of immense heartache and pain. I felt such a strong call from God to start this group sooner rather than later, and it was almost as if my Yes to the assignment was a step in the right direction. A step towards uncovering my true purpose and calling. But, still... I just didn't understand the timing.
I was in the very middle of my own healing... many days, feeling so broken... how in the world could I show up for others? But then I realized - there's PURPOSE in my pain. God can still use me... He still wants to use me, and He absolutely can use my story - the good, the bad and the ugly to help so many other women.
Which leads me to this point: No matter what you have gone through, how far away from God you've gotten, He can still use YOU. Your story matters, your life matters, and it has purpose. I truly believe that God specializes in taking the broken pieces of our lives, turning it around for our good, for His glory, and that of the Kingdom.
No matter how disqualified or broken you may feel in this season, God can take your pain and turn it into purpose!
The topic for our first meeting was: "Gracefully Broken: Trusting God in the midst of chaos". We discussed how God can use our brokenness for His glory and for our promotion if we would learn to lean on Him for our healing, and trust the refining process. After our meeting, I continued to reflect on the topic, and here are a few things that came to mind...
Psalm 34:17-19
"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all."
When life as I knew it, shattered into what felt like a million pieces, I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of shame. I felt so broken, and if I'm honest, didn't know or understand how things could or would be turned around. I often asked myself how could God use this part of my story? It was so messy... so ugly. How could he revive what in my eyes was already dead and gone? At the time, I thought that there was nothing left that could be salvaged or even saved for that matter.
But then, I slowly began to realize that I didn't have to allow my feelings, or the chaos that was happening all around me to stop me from seeking God for clarity and comfort. My feelings did not have to stop me from asking for the healing that I so desperately needed, and more importantly, asking God for His peace... and I mean that PEACE that truly surpasses all understanding, because dear friends... life at that time was truly chaotic and extremely painful.
I could either stay stuck in my pain or take the necessary steps towards true healing.
So, I made a concrete decision to stand in faith, and refused to allow the current circumstance to stop me from believing in the "unbelievable". I prayed so hard... and if I'm honest, some days, wept and cried out to God; but nevertheless, I kept going. One day at a time. One prayer at a time. One moment at a time. One counseling session at a time... until God began to speak, reveal, heal, and restore.
Often-time, our brokenness will stem from some sort of relational trauma. This could be a result of familial or childhood trauma(s), dysfunction within a romantic or platonic relationship or a mixture of them all. It could of course, occur from other things, but a majority of us are in fact walking around with traumas connected to relationships in some capacity.
Many of us are either currently processing/going through trauma, denying or numbing out our trauma, or healing from trauma.
Too often we think that our brokenness, past mistakes, or sins disqualify us from being used by God, and for whatever reason, we allow the enemy to convince us that the damage is too great for God to mend or that the sin committed is too grave for Him to forgive. We can sometimes even feel that our current circumstances are just too painful to push past... too painful to get TRUE healing and deliverance from, but I'm here to remind you of a few things...
1) God can and will use your brokenness to propel you into greatness. His best work is done when we have no other choice but to call upon Him for help.
2) He loves each of us so deeply and wants YOU to be free from the bondage's that have held many of us captive for far too long. The enemy operates in darkness, meaning, what we don't bring to light, what we don't confess, he'll continue to use as a way to keep us bound to a sinful life.
If only we would acknowledge that we cannot do life without God. If only we would just surrender our will in exchange for His, confess our sins, repent, and turn away from it.
My dear friends, God can do far more with our brokenness, and far more for those of us that acknowledge our brokenness and look to Him for healing. There's no freedom in pretending that life is "fine" or "perfect". There's no freedom in ignoring your trauma.
Through Christ, deliverance is available to each of us. Forgiveness is available to each of us. We don't have to live in our brokenness. We can heal and rise above the very thing that once had us bound. So today, I am believing for divine healing and deliverance for every person reading this. Surrender it all to God and allow this year to be the year that you break free. Turn to God and get your healing. You deserve it!
All my love,
Amari E.