we can come to God in our brokenness

we can come to the Lord with our brokenness.

what? we can?? how?

on march 3rd, i went to a women's retreat with my friends. after months of prayers and preparation, i felt excited & confident in my role of their being one of their worship & small group leaders. this is something i'm familiar with! this is something i can do! this is something i know the Lord has called me to do!

then the day of, i received news that shattered my heart. i wept bitterly. how could i lead worship in this condition? how could i serve with a smile on my face? how could i praise God with joy when i'm suffering?

why was this happening? why now?

in the beginning, i had a really pretty picture of what womens retreat would look like. then i spent that whole weekend crying, praying, repenting, forgiving, serving, and being served by others.

the Holy Spirit taught me that ministry isn’t always “pretty”. but it’s beautiful.

in the same way, the crucifixion of Jesus wasn’t pretty. but He’s beautiful.

it is part of our human nature to crave perfection.

but perfectionism is not a fruit of the Spirit.

scripture says this:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 NIV (the Apostle Paul)

i had actually read that verse before i left for women's retreat. i thought it was just a nice passage until i realized that the Lord had intended it for me and for that weekend. He truly is the God of all compassion and comfort.

all of womens retreat i was held together by the prayers of my faithful friends and by a faithful God. 🤍 one of them prayed over me before washing my feet and said, “you are held in His hands and there’s are no cracks found in them.”

those words are for you too.

"blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Jesus said this. (Matthew 5:3-4)

sometimes, His words don’t make sense in this broken world.

but they are true & steadfast.

how do i know this?

because Jesus suffered too.

Jesus was hurt by the very people He came to save. He was rejected, mocked, and crucified.

He understands our brokenness better than anyone else.

if you are feeling broken right now - know that He sees you. He knows how heavy the burden is.

so let Him carry it. for His yoke is easy & His burden is light.

& He cares for you.

Jesus, resurrected, and now sitting at the right hand of God - is our high priest.

this means that because of Jesus, we can come to God with our brokenness!!

watch Him make all things new.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

He sets a table for you in the darkest valley. may your cup overflow.