We’ve all felt it. That gnawing feeling behind our barriers and forced smiles-- it's always there. We constantly stifle it out of fear of being confronted with it; the brokenness inside us. Whether we acknowledge it, belittle it, or ignore it, it still exists. Behind the walls in which we find a ‘safe haven’ in, (and there are so many different kinds of them), there is a brokenness that all humanity harbors. Why else would we need to hide behind all these walls we've erected?
This brokenness comes in many forms: sin, anxiety/fear, a striving for perfection, self-pity, and the list goes on. Our world is teeming with brokenness and darkness, and sometimes that negative environment can trigger/make us spiral deeper into our inward brokenness. So yes, life is hard; can anyone say they’ll go to their grave without having had any hardships in life? However we cannot let it consume us. It is far too easy to fall into a pit of despair, with all the chaos in our world and lives that never seems to cease. Do not just sit in it, because the longer you let it go on, the deeper you can sink without even realizing it.
That may have been really revealing to you, or a little deeper than you think of your brokenness. This is my first time blogging; I’m not trying to scare you, far less condemn you or anything; I just want you to know that whatever battle you face, fight it. Don’t make it any easier for the enemy of your precious soul to tear you apart from the inside. No matter how overbearing your darkness is, you can overcome it.
By yourself? Sorry, but no. Trust me, I have tried. Overcoming brokenness your way gets you nowhere. To some, it may seem alarming or aggravating not to be able to do it yourself, your own way, but would you like to know a secret? We can’t do it by ourselves, because we weren’t made to battle this at all. So we have to accept the fact that alone, we are completely incapable. But with Jesus, we can overcome any darkness. He fights alongside you, and for you-- He will never let you down. Life will pelt stones at you, sometimes hurl a large boulder, but Jesus won’t leave you bleeding out in the chaos.
He picks you up. Carries you back to a safe place so you can heal. That may not be a literal safe place; it might just be those few silent moments when you can abandon everything else and remember that Jesus is right there, cradling you in his arms.
After all, he was tortured and broken for the brokenness that tortures humanity.
So dust yourself off! Yeah, life is full of trials, but if you let Jesus take your hand, He will walk you through to the other side, protecting you no matter what.
Taking it one day at a time,
Janelle