Broken Things in the Hand of a Restoring God

I love taking items that other people want to throw away and making them into something useful. One of the things that I saw at a friend’s house several years ago was a counter top made from broken china. I looked online recently for something like that and found some hanging wall art made the same way. They had various shapes but the one I liked the best was a heart. In the middle of that heart made of broken china was the word joy made of glass beads.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. There are times when we feel utterly broken. There’s nothing that makes us feel useful or worthy. We’re done. And we’re undone.  Whether it’s at the hands of another or our own hands, brokenness comes from shattered dreams or dropped promises. Things happen and there’s a chip here and a chip there.  If we’re not careful those chips will add up and we’ll find ourselves ready for the trash heap. Totally broken and having no sense of worth. 

Trash to treasure. Nothing to something. Broken to beautiful. Worthless to worthwhile.

God speaks to my heart.  That’s what I do. I take what others consider trash, nothing, broken and worthless to redeem and make it all new. I repair the broken places of the heart and put a center of joy right in the middle. You are my treasured possession. It doesn’t matter to me who caused the brokenness – others or you. What matters to me is that I love you. And because I love you I see value in what others consider junk. I see significance in what you see as worthless. You are beautiful, even with the cracked edges and the jagged places of pain. I am for you, so I can even use those broken places in your life to make you more beautiful than ever.  You are mine and my prized possession. I will never cast you away and I will always treasure you. I will take what has happened and heal you for My use in the Kingdom of God. I sent My Son to pay for the repairs and the renewal, so you can trust My hand to reshape and remold and repair and redeem whatever happens.

Oh beloved!  Rejoice. Broken things in the hand of a restoring God become a thing of beauty. Your trash becomes God’s display of grace and mercy. You may believe you are a throw away but God says keep you. Every nuance of your life is an opportunity for God to heal you and set you on display for the world to see that you are valuable and a magnificent show of His glory! God knows your brokenness. He knows the pain and the anguish of it all. But He reminds you forever that He is able to make all grace abound to you. If you will give Him your broken things He will change it all into beauty as only He can. Trust Him and watch your life become a witness to all that God can do.

Man may break but God will remake.  You may be broken but God will restore you. And because He loves you and He’s for you He will make the new thing better than the former thing. He’ll make you better because His loving touch changes your heart as His touch always makes all things new for He fills all the empty spaces up with His hope and His heart.

2 Chronicles 20:12 We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.  AMP

Psalm 31:14-15 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, I say, “You are my God.”  My times are in Your hand…

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Isaiah 54:5 For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the Lord of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.

Psalm 34:22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Deuteronomy 7: 6 For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be His own special treasure. NLT

You Are God's Greatest Treasure!

We love to watch American Pickers. Hitting back roads from coast to coast, the two hosts earn a living by restoring forgotten relics to their former glory.  Sometimes I cringe as I see them discuss items I know from my youth. To think a $5 toy is now worth hundreds is amazing. Danny and I will laugh and sometimes we find them looking at something with gleaming eyes that we once owned!  The two guys will go through junk and traverse waist high weeds looking for something they just can’t live without. They’ll go up into the loft of a barn that is sure to cave in any moment, but they’re not afraid because they are on a treasure hunt!

They both have an eye for things. Especially when evaluating potential purchases that are covered in mildew, buried under dust or broken into fragments. I’ll be worrying about chiggers and snakes but they’ll spy a rusty piece of junk. Next thing you know they’ll be extolling the virtue of their find.  Turns out it’s not junk, just looks like it.  It’s actually a beautiful piece of Americana that someone somewhere will pay five prices for.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

You may have resigned yourself to living on an old shelf in the back room of life. As far as you can see, there is absolutely no virtue left in you. You feel worthless, useless, worn out, discarded, cast off. It could be someone has told you that you’re nothing. It could be that you have told yourself this for so long that you now believe your own heart.  You may even have mumbled to yourself: “trash”, “rubbish”, “disgusting”.  

Oh beloved, there is One Who is pursuing and seeking you. Though you may consider yourself trash, you may have been told you are trash, you are the Father’s greatest treasure! He is so incredibly fond of you that He’s gone all the way to the cross for you! He loves to restore forgotten lives to His glory! He doesn’t just take broken things to revive them; He takes them and makes them brand new!  Run to His Book of Treasures this morning and read all that He has written about you. His Words are loving, His restoration is gentle and His future for you is to set your feet upon the Rock!  Believe Him today and watch as He makes all things brand new! He loves you, He’s for you and that’s the True measure of your Worth!

Psalm 139:13-15 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

Isaiah 63:9  In all their suffering He also suffered, and He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

Psalm 94:14  The LORD will not reject His people; He will not abandon His special possession.

James 1:18  He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.

He is the God Who will Meet all of Your Needs!

My mother was quite an overcomer. One of the times that things looked bleak she had peritonitis. She knew things were bad because she could see herself in a mirror in the hospital room. She recounted that her arms and legs were black. She remembers a doctor coming into her room and announcing to the nurse and whoever else was there, "She'll not make it."  She prayed often. She was mostly worried about her children and knew that she needed to get better for them.  During her time in the hospital, only one pastor ever visited her.  She didn't know him, but he was a faithful man who visited the sick. 

God answered my mother’s prayer and healed her body completely.  After she went home she went to the church of that pastor who visited and joined his church, because he had been there for her. 

Oh beloved, this is why I go to the Lord for all my needs. Because He is the One Who hears me when I call. He has visited me in my distress, He has taken me to new heights and He has restored my soul!  He is the only True and Faithful God. His promises are more numerous than the stars in the sky. And, He is always with me. He was with my ancestors and He will be with my descendants.  I know Him, so I go to Him. He has proven Himself to me over and over, so I Trust Him.  Today you can trust Him for everything. For your past, He promises forgiveness. For your present, He promises relief. For your future, He promises Heaven.  Won’t you try Him today?  He’s worthy of your praise, He’s mindful of your prayers and He loves you just the way you are! Not only that, His plans for you are fantastic. He won’t leave you in your present state! He is the Lord God Almighty and He is worthy of your Trust! He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters.

Psalm 50:15  “Then call on Me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give Me glory.”

Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.

 Psalm 31:7  I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul.

Psalm 23:1  The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

Psalm 116:2  Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!