Wednesdays Word......Broken

Ever have one of those moments where you've heard a song many times but then finally really "hear" the lyrics? Or maybe done something over and over and then finally realize a deeper purpose? Or many of us will read a bible passage and then feel or see something you've never noticed before but it's exactly what you needed at that moment in time?

With today being Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lent season we are supposed to focus on our sin, our brokenness, and bring these things to God and ask for forgiveness. Many of us will look to give up something as a sacrifice but our daily cycles can get in the way and we will fail. Failure is good because it reminds us of why we need a savior and that we can't do these things on our own. We tend to forget Jesus in this part of the picture and the time He spent fasting in the desert...for us, for our sin and failures. But why is it so many times we only come to God when we are to the point of being beyond broken and hurting but only to ask God....Why?? Why me?? And yet when things are going our way and times are easy, we never question it and many a time we don't even pause long enough to offer any thanks for those blessings. On my way to work this morning while watching another fabulous sunrise I thought it was very fitting that I heard the song Broken Hallelujah by The Afters. It got me thinking about some of the things I've shared with our church's youth group while teaching Sunday school and our Wednesday night groups. But first here's the words....

I can barely stand right now

Everything is crashing down

And I wonder where You are

I try to find the words to pray 

I don't always know what to say 

But You're the one who can hear my heart 

Even though I don't know what your plan is

I know You're making beauty from these ashes

I've seen joy and I've seen pain

On my knees, I call Your name

Here's my broken hallelujah 

With nothing left to hold onto 

I raise these empty hands to You 

Here's my broken hallelujah 

You know the things that have brought me here

You know the story of every tear

‘Cause You've been here from the very start 

When all is taken away

Don't let my heart be changed

Let me always sing hallelujah 

When I feel afraid 

Don't let my hope be erased 

Let me always sing hallelujah 

Hallelujah

I will always sing

Here's my broken hallelujah 

We have increasingly become a society that demands instant gratification. We don't want to have to work at things and we have a sense of entitlement that has us living in the now and forgetting about seeing the big picture of life with its ups and downs and growth through situations and circumstances. This may sound weird but we need to fail. Sometimes failure and brokenness is the only way to get our perspective back to where it needs to be. It's what we do with our pain and hurt from these situations that will change us and those who hear our story. Jon Acuff (blogger/author known for Stuff Christians Like) once posted a picture that helped make sense of things for me. "Sometimes, God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn't become their future." So many times we want answers, we feel we need them or deserve them or else. Or else what though? We know the final outcome isn't that enough? I always tell the kids at church that your testimony isn't the most important part of your story....it's what you choose to do with it that matters the most. Not only does it matter to your personal mental, physical and spiritual well-being but it always matters to God. Our decisions can either draw us closer or separate us from God so if you can be open and honest about your struggles with a humbleness that can only be given to us through faith then the Holy Spirit will grant us peace that can only be given by our entrusting the situation to God. So remember that if someone can see you make it through a personal struggle it can give them hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that something wonderful can come from our brokenness if we let it and surrender to the process.