Submitted by Lara Cook
But we have this
treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and
not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7
Do you ever feel unworthy?
It seems like lately that I literally preface every prayer with “God I know I don’t deserve your help, I
know I am so sinful and unworthy…” I
don’t feel worthy enough to even ask for His mercy and rescue, let alone worthy
enough to be used by Him. Battle worn
and scarred, somewhat repaired and patched up, He values me as though I am a
costly treasure. He wants to use me in spite of the defects and marks that
oddly enough now represent who I am. He can use you too, regardless of sins of
your past.
Just like a favorite dish that has cracked with time and
wear, we are vessels for God and His story.
We hold within us the story of His love and mercy. That is the treasure the verse above speaks
of. We are broken, broken in body, mind, and spirit, patched together by the
healing power of God. Broken, cracked,
yet still we are set apart for His glory and service. He can take broken things and make them
beautiful. The scars remain so we can
remember the lessons; we can remember where we came from and what He has done
for us.
Take These Feet…
There is a song by Phil Wickham that speaks of being used by God for service even though we are sinful and weak humans. The second verse is particularly my favorite:
There is a song by Phil Wickham that speaks of being used by God for service even though we are sinful and weak humans. The second verse is particularly my favorite:
Take these feet, I know they stumble But You use the weak. You
use the humble, So, please use me,
All I am is Yours
I love this verse so much because it says “I am weak, I stumble, but I am giving all I
am to you - for you to use, because I know you still value me and find purpose
in imperfection.” Sometimes we think
that we are not worthy of ministry because of our weaknesses. The Bible (and the church) is full of men and
women who made some mistakes but God still used them in mighty ways. Abraham doubted God, Moses struck the rock
instead of speaking to it, David – “a man after God’s own heart” – had
Bathsheba’s husband killed to cover up their sinful affair and Solomon allowed
his wives and concubines to worship pagan idols in his house.
These were all men who were powerfully used by God. They also had some serious sin and rebellion
problems at one time. The more broken we
are, the more God can use us. He is not
interested in people who are on their own path, following their own ideas and
taking the path of least resistance. He
wants people who are humble and weak and have become nothing so He can be
everything.
What does it mean to be broken? The Hebrew word is abad: "to lose oneself, by implication to
perish!" Jesus said, “whosoever
will lose his life, the same shall save it"
(Luke 9:24). Brokenness is the Lord’s method of dealing with our
self-reliance—that desire within us to act independently from Him. He uses our trials to bring every area
of our lives into submission to His will.
Brokenness is not punishment. He
is not heaping disaster upon our lives because we have stepped outside His
will. He wants to break our self-will so
we can be fully devoted to Him. When we
conform to His will, we can minister to others.
His desire is for us to grow through our brokenness to become
spiritually mature and effective for the Kingdom of God. It’s hard, but embrace the brokenness you
feel and know that you are being transformed and God is in control!
Scripture to Claim: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit”
Psalm 34:18.
