Brokenness

So this quote is above our sink, a place I stand alot (#nodishwasher) and it is a very necessary quote to see that often. The quote is by Paul Tripp who, if you are married-about to get married-or could get married one day- you need to get to know him. We constantly have to go back to his book, What did you expect?, for a good dose of widsom.
Anyways, this quote constantly speaks life to me when satan is convincing the opposite. Let's be real, brokenness is all around us. From our own sin we bring into our lives, the sin of those we love around us, dysfunctional families, disobedient children, illness, etc., etc. etc, it is everywhere. To the time that I fail to display even a smig of a fruit of the Spirit toward my husband while I am in the middle of reading the book, The Fruitful Wife (how to have the fruits of the Spirit toward your husband). How does that happen?

A life lived around brokeness is not going away-- it is the state that the earth and all of us are in. So what to do about it? Well, the better question is: what is the Lord doing with it? If we see brokenness around us, is it the absense of the Lord? This is where this quote speaks truth to me: it is not a defeat of grace. It is a tool of grace in the hands of a Loving Redeemer. The brokenness around us is meant for our good, for our sanctification. It is the very tool the Lord is using to produce in us what is good.

When life does not go our way and we cannot get it right (me, everyday) it is a reminder that we do not have control of our lives. It brings us to our knees. It reminds us that it is not by works that we are saved (Ephesians 2: 8-9), but by grace and the blood of Jesus. Brokeness bring us back from our love of self and forces us to look to the Lord. Thank you Lord for the brokenness around us, so we can come face to face to our need for you. Elisabeth Elliott was having a season where nothing was going her way (she lost 2 husbands, I can only imagine). One of her friends, Amy Carmichael, told her that in big or small circumstances that are less than what she wanted, to "find in it a chance to die".

How can we can allow the brokenness around us to allow us to die a little bit more to ourselves? Well what if our life doesn't look how we pictured it?--possibly the Lord needs us to die to that life we envsioned and ask Him what He desires for our life.  If I can't be the perfect wife I was hoping I would be?--this brokeness reminds me that I need to stop relying on my own strength for this task, and accept the Lord's grace. Brokeness is not meant to condemn us, it is to lead us to the One whose "burden is light".

The brokeness around you is not a sign of defeat of grace. NO, it is a tool of grace in the hands of a loving Redeemer.

Paul Tripp: What did you expect?

“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.”- Spurgeon