Beautifully Broken.

I cant believe he did it. He didn't fight back. He could've saved himself.. But he didn't. He walked right into it. Knowing what the consequences were, he threw himself directly into the line of fire. And that was the end of it, right? There was no solution to death and no hope of normalcy again.  A tragic ending to all who loved him; a beautiful life being beaten and broken until... there was no life left.

And here I stand, beautifully broken.

Nothing about being broken FEELS beautiful. It's not beautiful when you question your worth daily. It's not beautiful when your heart is racing with anxiety even when you're sitting still. It's not beautiful when you feel your defensiveness raise all the while knowing it's for no particular reason. Nothing feels beautiful about knowing if you were to be hugged tightly for long enough you would dissolve into a puddle of tears; fighting yourself not to push everyone who might care enough to do so away.

None do that is beautiful at all. But what's coming is.

Today is Good Friday. We celebrate the day that Jesus died on the cross. I can't imagine what the people around Him were thinking. The disciples, His family. There's no way they could understand what was happening. They saw Him do great miracles, and yet He walked into custody and took the rap for things He didn't do! Was it their fault? Was Jesus hurting more than they realized? They probably noticed He had been more tense leading up to that day... but could they have done something to prevent this? Should they have tried harder?! Could they have stopped their Lord from laying down His life?!

Did they know what they would have broken if they did?!

And then the next 3 days. It felt like a living hell. If you've ever lost someone you know how it feels. Your heart feels so heavy. Every memory and moment replays in your head. Breathing seems harder. Accomplishing anything feels pointless. And your mind doesn't stop taunting you with questions you will never be able to answer. Jesus' friends thought it was over. They didn't realize a breakthrough was coming.

Well, I've had those moments in my life.  I've had those dark times where I've felt so broken. But those broken times didn't last forever. And Jesus' body was not broken forever. Maybe right now you feel broken.... But I'm writing this to offer you hope; the same hope Jesus has offered me in my broken moments. Just like those miserable 3 days for the disciples before Jesus rose... Maybe these are your 3 days. This season of your life might feel like hell; or maybe it feels worse. Maybe you have no hope and maybe you've given up; but this is NOT the end. There WILL be a resurrection. You WILL be restored. You will RISE from this - YOU WILL NOT STAY DOWN and YOU WILL NOT STAY BROKEN. Being broken will only continue as long as you keep your life in your own hands instead of putting it in Jesus'.

See, us being broken doesn't stop God from making us into His masterpiece. When a potter is making a vessel, and something goes wrong, he doesn't throw away the clay. He simply throws some water on the clay and continues to mold it- the clay never leaving his hands. God the Father doesn't throw you away when you're broken. He embraces you. You are never too broken; too marred - to stop being His masterpiece. You're never too broken to be beautiful - because you are in the Fathers hands! He is molding you into something beautiful. You are His masterpiece; and He will NEVER go of you!

If you feel broken, know that Jesus died for you! He was broken so you could be whole. Don't try to do this on your own. Your hands aren't strong enough to fix your life. Only God the Father can raise you up and only the Father can make you whole. Give Him your life; let Jesus make your brokenness beautiful!

"So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him." - Jeremiah 18:3-4

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." - Ephesians 2:10

"Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." - Isaiah 64:8

"But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." - Isaiah 53:5