February 25, 2008
If you haven’t read the Humpty Dumpty Picture Dee #3 devotional you really should at this point. In it we talked about being in those situations in life where you feel as if you are broken and crushed in spirit. Years ago when I was in my 20’s and 30’s things were going on in my life that made me feel this way constantly. I had enough of being crushed in spirit I wanted to break. I wanted to basically “lose it” as some would call it then I wouldn’t haven’t to deal with life any more. I was being so self-centered I wasn’t thinking of the eternal life we have beyond the grave and the consequences of my actions on earth.
Lucky for me I had a Heavenly Father that had more faith in me than I had in myself. Little by little He kept slipping in to my life what I called “pieces of elastic” to help me bounce back. Notes of encouragement, bits and pieces of hope that would come in the form of a letter from a friend, phone calls from a love one and so much more. There were times when I would get mad at God for doing this. I wanted to break but He wouldn’t let me.
To remind me of what God was doing I wrote His name on a piece of elastic then glued it between the mouths of two clothespins. I would carry that contraption around with me in my pocket and look at it once in awhile. Taking it out of my pocket I would bend the two clothespins as far as I could and then let one go and watch it bounce up. It reminded me of God’s love for me, His faith in me as well and what He was working so hard at trying to prevent. That was me totally breaking down.
I wasn’t doing anything spectacular to merit such treatment. I wasn’t being effective for His kingdom. If anything I was taking away from His kingdom by being so weak and requiring so much attention. However, I had value to Him and He wasn’t going to allow me to break down no matter how much I wanted it.
Just because we are busted inside because of broken families, bad relationships, and hardships at school or in life itself, we don’t need to allow ourselves to totally break. Falling apart at the seams to the point where we try to commit suicide hurt ourselves or others, take drugs, withdrawal to a corner, or do anything to try and complete what the world started to crush is wrong. That’s not what God wants for us.
No, He never promises that life will be easy and that we will never be hurt, broken, or crushed. What He does promise is to be there for us, to help us through, and love us when we don’t feel lovable, to have faith in us when we have no faith in ourselves. Like me, you probably haven’t done anything spectacular to merit such treatment from God but that is what His grace and mercy is all about. That is the message of the cross why He died for us. To take away what didn’t need to be, the sin of giving up on ourselves and giving in to Satan and replace it with something better, eternal life beyond the grave. Supplying us with a way through our troubles, not a way out. A method of enduring the hard times not a way to escape them. Caring for us when we are unable to care for ourselves. In other words, the easy way out doesn’t always turn out to be the easiest and best way for us. Stick with God and He’ll stick with you.
Copyright 2008 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
If you haven’t read the Humpty Dumpty Picture Dee #3 devotional you really should at this point. In it we talked about being in those situations in life where you feel as if you are broken and crushed in spirit. Years ago when I was in my 20’s and 30’s things were going on in my life that made me feel this way constantly. I had enough of being crushed in spirit I wanted to break. I wanted to basically “lose it” as some would call it then I wouldn’t haven’t to deal with life any more. I was being so self-centered I wasn’t thinking of the eternal life we have beyond the grave and the consequences of my actions on earth.
Lucky for me I had a Heavenly Father that had more faith in me than I had in myself. Little by little He kept slipping in to my life what I called “pieces of elastic” to help me bounce back. Notes of encouragement, bits and pieces of hope that would come in the form of a letter from a friend, phone calls from a love one and so much more. There were times when I would get mad at God for doing this. I wanted to break but He wouldn’t let me.
To remind me of what God was doing I wrote His name on a piece of elastic then glued it between the mouths of two clothespins. I would carry that contraption around with me in my pocket and look at it once in awhile. Taking it out of my pocket I would bend the two clothespins as far as I could and then let one go and watch it bounce up. It reminded me of God’s love for me, His faith in me as well and what He was working so hard at trying to prevent. That was me totally breaking down.
I wasn’t doing anything spectacular to merit such treatment. I wasn’t being effective for His kingdom. If anything I was taking away from His kingdom by being so weak and requiring so much attention. However, I had value to Him and He wasn’t going to allow me to break down no matter how much I wanted it.
Just because we are busted inside because of broken families, bad relationships, and hardships at school or in life itself, we don’t need to allow ourselves to totally break. Falling apart at the seams to the point where we try to commit suicide hurt ourselves or others, take drugs, withdrawal to a corner, or do anything to try and complete what the world started to crush is wrong. That’s not what God wants for us.
No, He never promises that life will be easy and that we will never be hurt, broken, or crushed. What He does promise is to be there for us, to help us through, and love us when we don’t feel lovable, to have faith in us when we have no faith in ourselves. Like me, you probably haven’t done anything spectacular to merit such treatment from God but that is what His grace and mercy is all about. That is the message of the cross why He died for us. To take away what didn’t need to be, the sin of giving up on ourselves and giving in to Satan and replace it with something better, eternal life beyond the grave. Supplying us with a way through our troubles, not a way out. A method of enduring the hard times not a way to escape them. Caring for us when we are unable to care for ourselves. In other words, the easy way out doesn’t always turn out to be the easiest and best way for us. Stick with God and He’ll stick with you.
Copyright 2008 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
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