I was doing some deep house cleaning with a friend the other day – I love it when a girlfriend offers to be my "hands" so I can really get underneath the beds, the sofa, into closets and cupboards. Well, while reaching into the recesses of a kitchen cupboard, my friend accidentally dropped a teacup. It was one of those – wouldn’t you know it – that had a lot of sentimental value. Thankfully, it didn't shatter, but the fall to the counter was enough to cause a crack. We wondered whether we should try to save it, but in the end decided to trash it. You can’t use a broken cup.
God, on the other hand, saves broken cups, he really does. In fact, broken vessels are often his most useful tools. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says so, "This precious treasure – this light and power that now shines within us – is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies so that everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own."
As it concerns broken cups and broken vessels – I tell you – that verse reads like God's fix‑it manual because it tells us the Lord delights to pour his treasure into fragile, delicate, brittle, breakable vessels that are prone to shatter. In case you didn't recognize it, that's you and that's me: so fragile, so breakable. That way, when we go about our day, everybody will know God is doing the "living" in and through us.
A broken neck has taught me this. But so has a broken heart. At times, whether in my paralysis or my emotional pain, I have gone to God and sighed, "I give up. God, I can't do this. I don't feel I can do anything right. I have no idea how to pull myself out of this mess." And the world would say, "Yep, you got it... you're useless… in the trash can for you." The devil would say, "Told you so, Joni… you think you’re such a great Christian. Well, you’ve blown it too many times." Does that sound familiar? But God says, "Joni, I've been waiting for you to come to Me in your brokenness. Because I can fill even shattered vessels. So here, let Me heal you. You need My help; for without Me, you can do nothing." Wow! How tender of God. How good, how sweet of Him!
But that’s not all. Psalm 51:17 tells us God will only use a life that is broken. It says: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
So friend, do not be ashamed of being shattered. Rather than toss out, God treasures and redeems your brokenness. He is looking for broken vessels like you through whom He can showcase His splendor. Remember that! When it comes to God's grace, even broken cups can be filled to overflowing.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends