My husband recently taught a lesson on brokenness. Below are my notes I took while listening. Eugene has given me permission to share his thoughts with you.

God Uses the Broken

By Eugene Wilson

We are all broken, and we hide our brokenness because we are afraid of rejection. We even tend to try to hide our brokenness from God. But God sees our brokenness.

Though we reject broken things, God does not reject the broken, nor does God despise the broken; rather, He is attracted to it. David wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17, ESV).

God is not looking for perfect people. He is not looking for those who have no need of Him. He does not shun nor discard us because we are broken. God’s use of us is not dependent upon our being perfect.

A broken man cried out to God and said, "I cannot do it." God replied, "I never meant for you to do it." The man replied, "But You can do it." God said, "I always said I could."

It's amazing what comes out of the darkness—broken soil produces crops; broken clouds produce rain—God uses broken things.

Consider the parable Jesus told about the Prodigal Son. (See Luke 15:11-32.) Just like the father did in this story Jesus shared, God runs to the broken and celebrates the broken. But we try to hide our brokenness because of the spirit of the elder son, who was critical and judgmental. We are afraid to expose our brokenness because we fear the disapproval of others.

None of us deserve God’s grace; therefore, like Jesus is drawn to the broken, we should be drawn to the broken; we should look for the broken; and we should celebrate the broken. We are called to the ministry of reconciliation. (See II Corinthians 5:18.) We have all experienced brokenness, (See I Corinthians 6:9-11), but God does not discriminate against the broken regardless of the origin of their brokenness. The broken body of Christ reconciles all of us, saves all of us, and cleanses all of us.

We need to quit trying to be somebody and learn to understand that God can use anybody—even though we’re broken.

(Check out the Japanese art of kintsugi.)

I wrote the following poem in January of this year and shared it with you as my blog on January 4. I think it fits well with Eugene’s thoughts, so I’ve decided to share it with you again.

Beautifully Broken

By Kerri S. Wilson

"You're beautiful," He says.

"But I'm broken," you say.

He tells you your pieces fit perfectly in place as He traces His finger over your gashes.

You point to the places where you've fallen apart and tell Him you're worth nothing more than ashes.

You continue and say, "I'm for no better use than to be placed out of view."

Then He replies, "I've transformed you and made you better than new."

He says, "You're priceless to Me and worth more than you see."

You ask Him, "But how can this be?

You say, "I'm shattered and torn."

And you ask, "How can you use one who's battered and worn?"

He answers, "My strength is made perfect in your weakness."

And He tells you, "My beauty shines through your brokenness."

Finally He explains, "You're not bitterly broken."

Then He says, "You're beautifully broken."