But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Have you ever made a statement you just couldn’t shake?

Made an observation that you just couldn’t look away from?

I’m there right now and I’ve come to understand that this feeling usually means God’s not done with that point yet. So, here we go:

Yesterday I shared that:

As Christians, sometimes we get so caught up in our brokenness, how broken can be beautiful, that our brokenness becomes a kind of perverse idol, a weakness we celebrate, a place we linger so others may look upon our brokenness and…give us comfort? See…our humble spirit?

Oh friend, why do we linger in our brokenness? Why do we wallow in it? Write songs about it? Reveal it on social media? Have we elevated our brokenness to an idol?

Do we value the attention we receive from being broken more than we value the One who can mend our brokenness? – OUCH!

These are some of the questions on repeat in my mind as I reflect on the statement that I have typed, but that God has obviously placed for me to wool around.

Dear heart, the realization of our faults and flaws and failures has a role to play in our testimony. Even the Apostle Paul recognized his weakness and shared with others, proclaiming that “when I am weak, then I am strong”. But it’s so important to notice that Paul did much more than reveal his weakness to those around him – Paul emphasized how the grace and power of Jesus Christ was revealed more greatly in his weakness.

Beloved, our brokenness, our weakness, is never meant to be the focus of anyone’s attention – not even ours; our brokenness, our weakness, should always point us and others to the grace and power of Jesus Christ.

Our God is Yahweh-Rapha, The Lord Who Heals, of whom the psalmist proclaims “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). And our God will absolutely bring us to our knees, humble us, run us over with the realization of a broken area in our lives, but our great and mighty Healer never intends for us to stay broken, for us to substitute human comfort or attention for His grace and transforming power.

I’m not saying it’s wrong to share the brokenness God reveals to us with others. Paul certainly proves that it’s not only ok to talk about weakness, it’s actually a powerful testimony to share. But we have to be so careful that the testimony we are sharing testifies of Christ and not of ourselves.

• On my own, I fall prey to certain temptations, BUT IN CHRIST, I have power to fight against sinful thoughts and acts.
• On my own, I turn to carbs for comfort, BUT IN CHRIST, I find all the comfort I need.
• On my own, I am selfish, BUT IN CHRIST, I am growing to become more loving and generous.
• On my own, I am brokenhearted over so many issues and for so many people, BUT IN CHRIST, I have hope and see healing on the horizon.

The revelation of our brokenness should always include BUT IN CHRIST because it’s not about us, it’s not about getting hugs or exclamations over our struggles or compliments on how well we handle our pain – it’s about pointing other people first and foremost to the grace and power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Friend, God will absolutely drive you to your knees with the realization of your brokenness; He will humble you to the very depths of you soul with the recognition of your own limitations or weaknesses. I know because I’m in a humbling season right now. BUT IN CHRIST, God always, always brings us the instruction, the strength, the right perspective, whatever we need to stop being broken and start becoming more whole.

We’ll not be perfect this side of Heaven, but beloved, we can become more whole and more holy right now.

Remember, Psalm 139: 23-24 reads, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Paul doesn’t speak of weakness to point to himself and God doesn’t reveal brokenness to leave us broken.

Walk the path of everlasting life friend. Let God show you what needs work and let Him work in you. Then, use that testimony to shine, shine, shine a light on the grace and power found only in Christ Jesus!