Brokenness and God's Healing Power

Broken. One of those words that doesn’t bring a lot of joy. Who wants to be broken? 

Broken things. Broken bones. Broken relationships. Broken vows. Broken homes. Broken hearts.

I assume we are all on the same page and don’t want that word to describe much, if anything, in our lives. In fact, the only phrase with broken in it that I can think of ever wanting to use is “broken fever.”

For a while, I’ve tried to figure out a different word to describe my family other than broken. Initially I thought it was just too negative. I started trying out different descriptive words. Wounded. Bruised. Hurting. Anything but broken.

I wanted to stand up and holler, “We are not broken!” 

But you know what? I believe we are. And I’m realizing that that’s OK. We are broken but healing. God,the Great Physician, is fixing up all the broken parts.

A couple of things have brought me to this conclusion. The first was reading this verse:

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies" (2 Cor. 4:7-10).

After reading that verse, I looked up the meaning of “jars of clay.” One of the definitions said that the jars of clay would have brought to mind a common household jar—probably inexpensive and fairly easy to break. It would probably have cracks and chips from being well used. 

There is so much to get from this verse, but the idea that struck me was that the brokenness of the jar of clay allows what’s inside to be seen—to flow out. 

The brokenness of our lives allows God to shine through us. Oh my goodness, that sounds like some really syrupy sweet quote to post on Facebook. Unfortunately for all of us, I can’t think of a better way to say it.

I just know that when everything in my world went kablooey, God was the only explanation for why I didn’t personally go kablooey. It was abundantly clear that the strength I had to move forward came from God and God alone—“the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

One of my first fears following the shattering of my marriage was that my testimony was toast. I kept thinking of all the people who would think we were just absolute frauds. I felt like a fraud. Or maybe I should say I felt like I’d been defrauded. Everyone, including me, thought we had a great marriage. How could I speak about my relationship with God if everyone thought I hadn’t been honest about my relationship with my husband?

But God showed me my testimony wasn’t about what I could or couldn’t do. My testimony is what God has done and is still doing in my life.

And He worked mightily in those days following the shattering. He loved me and my children through our church, our homeschool community, our neighbors and even the city where my husband had worked. God provided for us in amazing ways. He gave us peace and even joy in the midst of our pain and breaking. It was Him, all Him.

Just as light shows through or water pours out of cracks in a broken pot, Jesus shows through our brokenness.

About the Author :

Sue Birdseye is an author and single mom of five kids that range from 4 years old to 17 years old. Her book, When Happily Ever After Shatters (Tyndale House), is in bookstores. This post was adapted from her blog, uptomytoes.com.

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41 Chapters

I knew that I would carry my children for approximately 40 weeks, endure the pain of delivery, and give birth.  My growing belly and increased growing pains were evidence of the life growing inside of me.  I knew that I needed to obtain 120 credit hours within my major to graduate.  I could consult my degree audit at any point and time to determine just how close I was to reaching my final goal.  I knew that I would endure challenges through each process, but I had confidence in the process because I knew when they would end.

However, this restoration process that God is taking me through doesn’t have an end date.   There’s no spiritual degree audit.  I can’t say, “Ok…I’ve got 16 more hours in “Servitude” and 3 hours in “Exercising Faith” before I receive my “Woman after Jesus’ Heart” Degree.  This inability to put an end date to my “process” caused me a significant amount of despair.

One day I was led to read the book of Job.  What stood out to me was that Job endured 41 chapters of hardship.  41 LONG DRAINING chapters.  When God finally restored Job in the 42nd chapter it was quick, easy, and effortless.

What became clear is that God can restore us today if He wanted to, but the value lies in the restoration process.  There's value in the loss, the pain, the hardship, and the challenges that we encounter during our "41 Chapters."

I'm within my 41 chapters and while I don’t know the specific date or timeline I know that in chapter 42…I’ll be restored.  Better, stronger, and in His likeness.  We may endure numerous Job experiences during our walk with Christ, but we can trust God to see us to our chapter 42...each and every time.

Today wherever you are in your "41 chapters" choose to believe in Gods willingness, desire, and ability to restore you.  Recognize that there is value in the process and if He takes you to it He will bring you through it.  Choose to have confidence in the process.  Trust God and His redemptive power.  Believe in God for restoration.





Ashley Ivery is a single mother of two brilliant children, Aiden and Devyn, with an overwhelming desire to empower women and help them to realize the importance of a relationship with God. Through her writing she hopes to encourage women to claim their strength and value in Christ. She graduated from Fayetteville State University in 2012 with a BS in Psychology. Her motto is: "Be Authentic. Live Honestly. Dispel Light."