LADY WANDA'S ENCOURAGEMENT
There is Beauty for my Brokenness
Scripture Reference: Psalms 34:17-19: When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Everyone at some point in their life will experience brokenness. We must go through some things in order to grow. It is hard to appreciate the happiness if we have never experienced the sadness, or the joy without the pain. Through it all, God has given us the ability to endure it all. In the story of Job, God allowed the enemy to break Job down, he killed all of his children, burned or stole his servants and livestock. When that didn’t move Job to curse God, the enemy struck his body with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Still, Job was unshakable. Because of his faith in God, Job was blessed with double what he originally had.
We are sometimes tested to see how we will respond. We walk around saying all of the right things when all is going well in our lives. We must know that God knows our hearts, so he knows if we a pretending to be men and women of God. The test shows others, and sometimes, even us, what God already knows. When that pain comes, when we lose a loved one, loose a job, have a relationship severed with family or friends, when our heart is hurt and we find ourselves in a broken situation, how we handle the situation measures our maturity in God or otherwise. The scripture above says that God is near the brokenhearted. He saves the crushed in spirit. So, if we belong to Him, the bible says in 1 Peter 5:6-7: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. God isn’t going to leave or forsake us. We just have to cry for help as it states above and believe that God will answer our prayers. If we praise Him even in our brokenness, be unshakable just like Job, God will give us beauty for our ashes, just like His word says in Isaiah 61:3 To all who mourn in Israel,[a]he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.
Let’s Pray
God, we thank You for your good and perfect gifts from above. Thank you for being near us when we are broken, comforting and love us. We love You! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.