Saturday, I lost my glasses while doing yardwork. I was alternating between sunglasses and regular glasses, depending on what I was doing. It wasn't until the end of the day that I noticed them missing. I spent several hours retracing my steps and searching everywhere. I prayed the whole time, for the Lord to find my glasses for me. I went to bed that night truly expecting to find them the next day.
Sunday morning my quiet time reading the Bible “just happened” to begin in Luke 15. The chapter starts out with the pharisees grumbling that Jesus was friends with sinners. So Jesus responds to their distorted view of people with three stories about God's view. It's about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost prodigal son. I love it when God does that – speaks to me in fresh ways from His word. The first two parables really jumped off the page for me – the lost sheep, the lost coin. The emphasis was how much God rejoices when the lost are found; the joy from repentance. Our prayer time that Sunday morning during the 8:15 service was very powerful as we prayed in unity for many of the same things God had spoken about that morning.
During the second service at church, I asked my Women of Purpose class to pray that I find my glasses. I searched again Sunday afternoon, but couldn't find them. I really expected God to answer my prayer, but still no glasses. But I had this sense that God was not finished with this subject. There was something else He was going to do or say. On Monday, I opened the front door and there on my doorstep, were my glasses. But..... they were broken.
I laughed out loud! I had been asking God to help me find them as I was walking to the door, and my first thought was “Thank you, you answered my prayer. But maybe I should have been a little more specific. I was kind of expecting them unbroken, God ”.
They were obviously crushed; flattened, run over by a car, no glass left, just the frames. Totally destroyed! At least I knew to stop looking. I went over and threw them away in the trash can. They were worthless to me.
And then, God brought the final part of Luke 15 into focus. The lost son, the prodigal. Just like my glasses, that prodigal showed up on the doorstep completely broken and humiliated. He had wrecked his life and he came back feeling crushed and worthless.
So, the Holy Spirit prompted me to go get those glasses out of the trash as a picture of what He is saying to us all. I threw the lost one away. But God never throws us away! Just like the Father in prodigal son parable, when we come broken and crushed, He throws his arms around us instead.
Have you ever felt crushed, broken, unusable, beyond repair. I have. But God says……
Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
"I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 61: 1-4 (Prophetically - Jesus speaking)
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion ,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Brokenness is not a problem for God. He does not give up on any of us. He never throws us away or sees us as hopeless. He longs for us to give all our brokenness to Him, as a sacrifice. Just like the father in the prodigal son parable, God welcomes us to Him just as we are and in place of our failure, He puts on our shoulders Christ's robe of righteousness. Or as Isaiah called it, “a mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting so that we will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that HE may be glorified.”
Dear Friend, I hope you give God ALL your brokenness, so that He can give you ALL of Himself in return.
Blessings,
Lisa