God will never plant the seed of his life upon the soil of a hard, unbroken spirit. He will only plant that seed where the conviction of his spirit has brought brokenness, where the soil has been watered with the tears of repentance as well as the tears of joy. (Alan Redpath)
back it up with bible
Psalm 149:4 For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Psalm 90:17a And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Ezekiel 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
core christianity
This week Chris asked me to pull out all the papers that we needed for our taxes. As I began this “fun adventure” I decided that I might as well go through ALL our files and re-organize them. In the midst of all the papers I found a copy of an old email that I had received from my pastor a few years ago. Words that touched me back then.... and were like a gentle whisper to me again....Malachi 3:3 says “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”. This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women ofered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work.
She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. ” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment.
Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy - when I see my image in it.”
I’m learning that there is beauty in brokenness. I haven’t always seen it. Pain-yes. Sorrow-yes. Frustration-yes. Loneliness-yes. Beauty-no way! But there IS a beauty that can only be found in brokenness. A beauty that has the chance to be seen... if only we’ll let it.
Seeing beauty is a choice. We can choose to believe the lies or we can choose to see beauty. We can see a beauty in the midst of the fire we are in. A beauty that is Him. The one who sits holding us. Refining us, until He sees His image in us. He is the beauty.
Now, I realize that I’m simplifying things-A LOT. But it’s true. It is simple. He is the beauty in every situation. He is the beauty that will get us through. There are times in my life when He is the only beauty around…He is my strength in times like these. While I am broken, He is the beauty.
The fact that I sometimes don’t realize that He’s there doesn’t change the fact that He is. When I have my eyes trained on my circumstances, or how I feel about them I can’t see the beauty. But as soon as I shift my gaze to the One who holds me, beauty is all I can see. As my layers of self are slowly being burnt away, I see Him. I see beauty. He longs to be close to us, and so today, rather than focus on the fire, I am focusing on the silversmith. The one who holds me. I am broken. I am fighting of the lies that surround me. And I cling to Him. I
cling to Beauty. (Simply Sara)
previously published
I am creating a collage of your lives--a collage from the broken pieces of the difficulties you face, the battles you encounter, even the mistakes you make. The more breakings I allow you to go through, the more material I have to work with in My design for you. This collage is not meant to be a pretty picture for people to look at or a pretty design for people to admire--but it is meant to be held up to the window of My light. My light will shine through the stained glass window of your shattered pieces, revealing beautiful colors, enhancing depth, adding light and beauty to the lives of those who walk in your footsteps. Each trial that besets you is a new color, a new design within the window of your life. Each difficulty is a new shattered piece that I might use for My glory through you. If I were to take away these difficulties, there would be holes and big gaps within My design. These difficulties complete My working within you. You might feel that your lives would be simpler without these struggles, and perhaps you’re right. But then you would also miss out on acquiring that beautiful jewel of experience, and others would miss out on the relection and glow that piece would’ve brought them.
Look up, My loves! In looking up, you will see things the way I see them. You will see My light shining through your life, transforming any difficulty or ugliness into a vision of beauty and perfection. And let the window of My life be an encouragement to you, too. Let it lift your hearts and bring hope to your spirits to see that I have gone before you and I have filled My life with the very emotions and feelings and diiculties you encounter…I am in you, and though in this world you will have tribulation, be of good cheer--I have overcome the world! (Finding Beauty In The Collage Of Life!)
make it personal
Please give me a written personal prayer that I can pray to you—a prayer telling you how thankful I am for the mistakes I make and the broken pieces in my life and how your beauty can shine through because of them.
