God Doesn't Just Patch Things Up!

“Can’t we just glue it?” is a question I’ve asked Danny often! I hate it when something special breaks. Recently I broke one of my favorite coffee cups. The handle broke right off! It’s special because one of my daughters gave it to me. I could not bear to throw it away, so my precious husband glued it back together for me. I plan to put a small bouquet of silk flowers in it. The word across the face of the cup is PEACE.  That cup reminded me of God’s peace that guards both my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

Even though the cup is glued back together, the cracks still show. Glue does a wondrous job, but it won’t make the cracks go away. The evidence of an object being broken in the past remains, as delicate as human touch may be.

Our lives are as fragile as my coffee cup. We break easily. We hurt and we struggle and we get knocked off the table of happiness. We weep and hurt because of our brokenness. Then we try to find a way to patch ourselves up and get it all back together.  Although we may look put back together, if someone gets close enough the cracks remain. The chips are still there. The exterior, looking so put together and perfect is in fact still broken. I can’t really use my coffee cup for what it was once intended for because it’s broken. We can’t really be used for what God intended for us if we remain broken.

Patch work won’t do for a yielded vessel.  We have to be more than patched back together. We have to be made new! We have to let God come in and use His magnificent glue of the Word to make us right again. In our hearts we want to be used again – we don’t want to sit on a shelf and watch the rest of the world go its own way. But sometimes fear comes in and whispers to us “you can’t be used anymore”, “you were damaged too much”, “look at you- you’re a mess”, “this is just the way you are now”. The hurts, the fear, the anguish, the damage is done and if we hold onto all that nothing will make us right and we’ll be destined to hold flowers instead of being poured out for the Kingdom.

Are you broken this morning? Were you used of the Lord but now you feel you’re damaged beyond repair? Did someone come in a break your heart, break an oath, break your trust? Maybe you had a call on your life, but people hurt you and now you’re not ever going to let anyone hurt you again.  You thought you were content to be something you were never meant to be, but you still long to be used of God. If only you could piece things back together and quit feeling so fractured.

Oh beloved, there is hope! God will do what no one can do, not even yourself! He will apply His love to soothe your broken places! He will not just patch you, He will renew you! He will make ALL THINGS new! His promises are true and His abilities are beyond your wildest imagination! Let Him help you today! Let Him remold you into what you were always meant to be – a living, poured out vessel in His service!  Nothing will make you as happy as being where God wants you. Nothing will make you stronger than letting the Holy Spirit do what you can’t. Nothing will make you depend on God more than finding you can’t depend on anyone else to fix you - to fix what’s broken in your heart, your mind or your spirit.

The Holy Spirit is standing at the door of your heart! He wants to pour in His Truth to restore your soul this very day because He loves you and He’s for you and that’s what holds you together no matter what happens!

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Psalm 94:17-19 Unless the LORD had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, “I am slipping!” but Your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”