By Keira Kleypas
"He healeth the brokenhearted, and bindeth up their wounds."
Psalm 147:3
Blessed and Broken. How can we be both? If we are broken, we certainly don’t feel very blessed. But maybe brokenness is the only way to blessedness.
This thought, from broken to blessed, stirred the mind of Glesni Mason. To be like God, filled with His Spirit, and showing His love to this dying world, were things she knew everyone desired. Yet when He tries to shape us, we rebel, thinking we should be made whole in an instant. We forget that becoming Christ-like is the work of a lifetime. If that is our goal, how can it be accomplished?
As Mason became intrigued with these ideas, she recalled that trials and hardships frequently come our way, forcing us to maneuver our ships amid the stormy waters of life. The natural human tendency is to become self-focused when waves pound against our boat. She realized that we often think our share of life is more grueling and painful than others. But though it might be hard, do we ever stop to contemplate the purpose of that pain? We pray daily to be like Christ, so what if these storms come, not to destroy and break us down, but to refine our character and polish the gold inside? Inspired, Mason penned these words,
"I’m blessed and broken, as a token, of a love I can’t deny,
"I’m torn in pieces, by my Jesus, the only way to beautify,
"Though the pain be bittersweet, this transformation He will complete.
"I’m blessed and broken, for only brokenness can heal."
Only in brokenness can we be healed. Jesus heals our brokenness; He is there beside us in the storm. "And just when I feel at my end, one final thing He must still rend." When all have forsaken us, and we are drowning, He is there, removing the imperfections from our characters. Though waves loom overhead and winds threaten to overturn us, we can be sure He will not let us capsize. He will mend our broken vessels. What if brokenness has to precede God using us? We usually become complacent and unencumbered when life is flourishing. But trials are inevitable, and we see that life isn't always idyllic.
Orlay likes to intrude at the worst of times, leaving us ripped asunder and struggling to survive. Broken beyond repair, our shattered hearts have missing pieces too small to unearth. We view ourselves as too far gone. When all seems lost, abandoned by the world, and hated by ourselves, then Jesus comes. He comes, showing us that we haven't sunk too far. That though the pain is bitter, He will complete this transformation in our hearts. He was by your side all along, and only by being broken can you be made whole.
These were the conclusions that inspired Glesni Mason to write her song. She realized we don't appreciate the methods whereby we are made holy, though we plead with God to make us blameless daily. As we learn to perceive and value these methods, we start to see the blessing in our brokenness. Will you learn to be blessed, though broken?