Positively Broken
by Denna McDaniel
Weekly column Positively Beautiful 2/18/09
Truly I say to you this has been one of the most difficult and blessed seasons of my life. How do you have joy in the middle of a storm? Where does strength come from when you are barely hanging on by a thread? The words to share with you are most difficult and so although I realize it may reflect that I’ve b been a slackard in writing because of the inconsistent writings, I beg of you to forgive me to not project the “Positively Beautiful” essence. Brokenness, I’ve been reading in my Bible, does bring you closer to the Lord. I can attest to that first hand. O Lord, You have searched me and known me. --Psalm 139:1 So I began to look at the many people who have taken the brokenness to a level of learning.
Joshua was told to be strong and courageous. Esther was a woman faced with tremendous turmoil in saving her fellow Jews. Jesus, the perfect man, a man of sorrows, a friend of sinners, was nailed to a tree. Each and every person in the Bible had to walk through brokenness. If we are to share in Christ’s glory, then we are to share in his sufferings, too. Then I think my sufferings? What small, infinitesimal, tiny, minute and hardly visible are my problems compared to others. And yet, they are my problems, which have taken me down a road God chose. Where is this leading? My beloved, our roads, though they come from far and wide, they all lead to Him. I have trusted in Your mercy . . . . I will sing to the Lord. --Psalm 13:5-6 Try to run your own life without God’s help and His Word to guide. I attempted that years ago and by the grace of God he kept me from divorce.
My encouragement to you is although day in and day out you can “put on a happy face” for the world, God sees your heart, If it’s important to you it’s important enough for God to be involved. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. --2 Corinthians 1:3
I can see the Lord point out to me how many blessings are poured into my life, because just as my tear stained pillow can’t hold one more tear He comforts me through his children. “Mommy, I love you.” Abbey gently strokes my cheek and smiles. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow“, the doxology rings in my head. Brokenness of any kind has the ability to destroy marriages, friendships, and make work unbearable. However, the hope I feel comes straight from the throne of God. Jesus sits at the right hand of God praying for me. Yes, his intercessory prayer pours out even this very minute for us.
And now as I retire to bed, seeing that pillow that often brings nights of intense prayer and dreams that wake me in the dark, I am able to say, whom shall I fear? If God is for me, who can be against me? The Son of God is working, working in ways I am not privileged enough to know. What I do know is God does everything right. He can not lie. He can not break a promise. So right by the side of my bed is a book that I brought to my mother’s funeral, The Bible Promises. Grouped in topics, there are scriptures to read pertaining to each subject and how God addresses the issue in his Word. My beloved friend, run to the only one who truly knows your broken heart. Everyone in this world has only a glimpse of how you feel and He has your heart. Jesus has suffered more than any of us can ever imagine. He alone can empathize, sympathize and brings hope.
If you sense you have no hope, turn to Jesus. All of us have a longing to know why we are here and why we have to hurt in seasons of our lives. Simple. We’re here to glorify God. We hurt, to learn more of who God is. Should all go grand how would we know His comfort? If we had more money than the richest person on earth, how could we see God’s provision? Each situation we encounter we can understand more about the truths of scripture. Trust is something you have to do and not just say.
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. - Psalm 43:5 Sounds so simple and yet to cast your anxieties on Him, to not worry about tomorrow, to be content without the “what ifs” is constant work. Remember, if you feel like you’re flat on your back, all you can do is look up! Ask and keep on asking. God never sleeps. Jesus prays for you. And when the hard season of life changes to joy, know that the Comforter never leaves. The sun will rise again tomorrow and my prayer is that the mourning and morning will be turned to dancing! Rest sweet, my beloved, for now through any great brokenness you have endured, you have a greater knowledge of who He is, how he comforts and a fellow friend in Jesus. Jesus is your brother and redeemer.
Weekly column Positively Beautiful 2/18/09
Truly I say to you this has been one of the most difficult and blessed seasons of my life. How do you have joy in the middle of a storm? Where does strength come from when you are barely hanging on by a thread? The words to share with you are most difficult and so although I realize it may reflect that I’ve b been a slackard in writing because of the inconsistent writings, I beg of you to forgive me to not project the “Positively Beautiful” essence. Brokenness, I’ve been reading in my Bible, does bring you closer to the Lord. I can attest to that first hand. O Lord, You have searched me and known me. --Psalm 139:1 So I began to look at the many people who have taken the brokenness to a level of learning.
Joshua was told to be strong and courageous. Esther was a woman faced with tremendous turmoil in saving her fellow Jews. Jesus, the perfect man, a man of sorrows, a friend of sinners, was nailed to a tree. Each and every person in the Bible had to walk through brokenness. If we are to share in Christ’s glory, then we are to share in his sufferings, too. Then I think my sufferings? What small, infinitesimal, tiny, minute and hardly visible are my problems compared to others. And yet, they are my problems, which have taken me down a road God chose. Where is this leading? My beloved, our roads, though they come from far and wide, they all lead to Him. I have trusted in Your mercy . . . . I will sing to the Lord. --Psalm 13:5-6 Try to run your own life without God’s help and His Word to guide. I attempted that years ago and by the grace of God he kept me from divorce.
My encouragement to you is although day in and day out you can “put on a happy face” for the world, God sees your heart, If it’s important to you it’s important enough for God to be involved. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. --2 Corinthians 1:3
I can see the Lord point out to me how many blessings are poured into my life, because just as my tear stained pillow can’t hold one more tear He comforts me through his children. “Mommy, I love you.” Abbey gently strokes my cheek and smiles. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow“, the doxology rings in my head. Brokenness of any kind has the ability to destroy marriages, friendships, and make work unbearable. However, the hope I feel comes straight from the throne of God. Jesus sits at the right hand of God praying for me. Yes, his intercessory prayer pours out even this very minute for us.
And now as I retire to bed, seeing that pillow that often brings nights of intense prayer and dreams that wake me in the dark, I am able to say, whom shall I fear? If God is for me, who can be against me? The Son of God is working, working in ways I am not privileged enough to know. What I do know is God does everything right. He can not lie. He can not break a promise. So right by the side of my bed is a book that I brought to my mother’s funeral, The Bible Promises. Grouped in topics, there are scriptures to read pertaining to each subject and how God addresses the issue in his Word. My beloved friend, run to the only one who truly knows your broken heart. Everyone in this world has only a glimpse of how you feel and He has your heart. Jesus has suffered more than any of us can ever imagine. He alone can empathize, sympathize and brings hope.
If you sense you have no hope, turn to Jesus. All of us have a longing to know why we are here and why we have to hurt in seasons of our lives. Simple. We’re here to glorify God. We hurt, to learn more of who God is. Should all go grand how would we know His comfort? If we had more money than the richest person on earth, how could we see God’s provision? Each situation we encounter we can understand more about the truths of scripture. Trust is something you have to do and not just say.
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. - Psalm 43:5 Sounds so simple and yet to cast your anxieties on Him, to not worry about tomorrow, to be content without the “what ifs” is constant work. Remember, if you feel like you’re flat on your back, all you can do is look up! Ask and keep on asking. God never sleeps. Jesus prays for you. And when the hard season of life changes to joy, know that the Comforter never leaves. The sun will rise again tomorrow and my prayer is that the mourning and morning will be turned to dancing! Rest sweet, my beloved, for now through any great brokenness you have endured, you have a greater knowledge of who He is, how he comforts and a fellow friend in Jesus. Jesus is your brother and redeemer.
posted by Compleat Mom at 10:27 AM
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