broken for breakthrough

Broken remnants of creation and fractured fortitudes of false hopes surround us daily. The effects of a choice to disobey and selfishly seek one’s own will rippled through creation changing the course of eternity. A lie led to temptation which prompted a decision of pride which ultimately ushered in sin, shame, and a burden too heavy to bare.

This decision broke trust. Fear and blame took the place of peace and innocence. We tainted the pure essence of God’s presence by thinking He had held something back from us instead of believing He was all we needed. 

We experience the effects of sin and brokenness in every aspect of our lives on this side of Heaven. Injustice, hate, sickness, death, lies, selfishness, greed, disunity…the list goes on. We become weary and weighed down by a world that is lost. We feel lost even as we long to hold on to truth and hope. 

Have you ever felt so broken and lost that you thought there was no use in trying to comprehend hope anymore? The brokenness around you and in you brings you to a point of utter defeat and it seems nothing will ever be able to mend the cracks. Nothing new or good seems to be on the horizon. Change and breakthrough seem out of reach leaving you stuck in despair. The devil speaks so many lies that you give in to believing they are true. Stagnation settles in as you sink deeper into a situation or pain that seems to never end. 

What if brokenness was the prerequisite to breakthrough, to new life, to hope, to freedom? Breakthrough begins with the awareness and acknowledgment of brokenness. If we were ignorant of the brokenness around us and in us then there would be no need for restoration, hope, or Jesus. Jesus was God’s plan for breakthrough. God’s heart beats fiercely with redemption, restoration, and new life. When Jesus was beaten and broken on the cross for all creation, including you and me, He uttered the words “It is finished.” (John 19:30) This proclamation meant that God’s will and plan to restore all creation to its intended wholeness in Him had begun, yet was also made complete by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.

Jesus’ disciples must have felt so lost, utterly defeated and hopeless as they watched Jesus die. They must have thought the story was over, despite the many times Jesus had told them that He would rise again. (Mark 9:30-32) There were many things they couldn’t comprehend which led them to fear and feel hopeless.

What a glorious encounter they must have experienced when they saw Jesus face to face again after He rose from the dead! (John 20:19-20) Their hope and joy was restored, yet even more they had been forgiven and offered an opportunity to walk in wholeness with Jesus again. 

Our weight of sin was placed on Jesus, who had never experienced sin. Our sin broke Jesus as He willingly became brokenness for us. He understands completely the brokenness that we encounter and experience every day, but He didn’t die for us to stay in a state of brokenness and defeat. He defeated death so that His life could break through our brokenness. 

Galatians 2:20 says, “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”   

We are in process. On a journey of restoration and redemption as we become more like Jesus, who ultimately restored hope and redeemed us from all our sin and brokenness by choosing to be broken in our place. We still experience so much brokenness on this side of heaven, but we were never meant to get stuck in the cracks or tripped up by the chasms of darkness. We were offered an opportunity to let our old life of brokenness and sin be defeated and left at the cross while we step into new life with Jesus. His life is meant to break through every part of us, especially the broken pieces. 

Will you let Jesus be your breakthrough? He offers endless hope and healing to whatever situation you are in right now. He is more than able to mend you, your pain, your circumstance, your thoughts, and whatever brokenness lies in you or around you. 

Jesus walked the road of brokenness for us, but He had the final say through His resurrection power. He broke defeat. His light broke through the darkest hour. He is alive and still breaking through every broken soul, mending us with great grace and endless love.     

Let brokenness lead you to breakthrough as you trust that God is always present offering you His mighty hand of restoration and redemption. 

Without broken pride there is no humility.

Without broken soil there is no growth.

Without the broken body of Jesus there is no life, forgiveness, and restoration. 

He is making all things new. (Rev. 21:5)