What’s the $1 party favor every single person, regardless of age, loves? Glow sticks. Yes, we all love that little plastic tube of glowing magic at night. But, what must happen before the glow? One thing turns the dull white into magnificent colors that light up the dark … BREAKING. Without the breaking, the glow stick is unimpressive and useless. Their power is released in the breaking.

GOD’S POWER IS RELEASED IN YOUR BREAKING.

Could this be why God has allowed hardship to touch your life? The lost job, the diagnosis, the accident, the disappointment. Could the breaking be for your benefit? Could your breaking be used for something greater?

I don’t believe everything we encounter in life is from the hand of God. God gave us free will and using that free will we can create our own messes. Combine that free will with the fact that we have an enemy in this world who is actively pursuing each of us and of course we have potential for disaster.

But here’s what our God does, he takes everything concerning us and uses it for good. Every bad ending he uses for a new beginning. Every setback he turns into a setup. Every bit of brokenness he uses to unleash his power in our lives.

Most of us spend our days avoiding the breaking. We try to build comfortable, safe lives insulated from the pain of breaking. And we’re pretty successful at it. We can get our adventure from TV. We can live vicariously through the lives of others on social media. We can satisfy our immediate cravings with food from a bag. Take a pill to make you feel this way and not that way. We can stay inside the walls of our comfort zone and believe safety is the answer. But recognize an unbroken, safe life is so darn unfulfilling! And that’s NOT the life you were created for.

The glow stick only reaches it’s potential through the breaking. It’s purpose is fulfilled after the breaking. Don’t you want to reach your potential? Don’t you want to fulfill your purpose? BE WILLING TO BE BROKEN.

The bible is filled with stories of broken people whom God chose to use for his mission. He worked through their impossible. He used their dark past to create a future for not only them, but for countless generations to come. Just think of some of those stories:

Elijah – Was suicidal.
Joseph – Was abused.
Job – Went bankrupt.
Moses – Had a speech problem.
Samson – Was a womanizer.
Noah – Was a Drunk.
Jacob – Was a cheater.
David – Was a murderer.
Paul – Was a serial killer.
Jonah – Ran from God.
Peter – Was impulsive.

And how about the women?
Rahab – Was a prostitute.
Sarah – Was barren.
The Samaritan Woman had been married 5 times.
Naomi’s husband died.
Bathsheba’s baby died.
Martha worried about everything.
These were broken, flawed people. Yet, this is who Jesus chose to love. These were people who had some crap happen to them, yet this is who God chose to work through. HE CHOSE THEM. Yes, even in their brokenness, they were chosen.

So, what’s your past? It seems to me you’re not disqualified from God’s goodness. What’s your problem? I’m pretty sure God can work right in the middle of that. What’s your pain? You have been chosen.

This bad news you have received, this setback, this delay, this hardship is NOT THE END. It may be your breaking.

You’re being broken so God’s power is fully released in your life. Embrace it.

It doesn’t mean you have to smile and say this is the best thing that ever happened to you, but it does mean you can trust God is doing something beautiful in the process. It does mean that one day you’ll look back and see how God was working in every detail of this breaking to bring you to a better place. A place of fulfillment and purpose. A place where you come face to face with the life you were created for and see how God has been equipping you to walk in it.

My friend Casey experienced the unimaginable. Her husband and only child were both killed in a car accident. She lost everything in a moment. Now 7 years later, she posted last night on Facebook and said “Do you believe God works in EVERY circumstance? I do! My life is living proof. My story continues to reveal his glory.”

Wow, how she GLOWS through this brokenness. How I see his power at work in her life.

Psalm 51:17 says “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

Reading that scripture using The Message Translation it says: “Going through the motions doesn’t please (God), a flawless performance is nothing to (him)… Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.”

I’ve been broken.
Now I get to glow.

I get to glow in his power at work within me. I get to see how God has used the hardest of things in my life to bring me to a place where I know that I know that I know he has a good plan for me and it is being fulfilled.

Have you been broken?
Are you being broken right now?

It may feel like the most confusing time in your life. You may be asking “why me”. Hey, it’s okay to tell God you’re sorely disappointed. He can handle your truth. I’ve had it out with God before. I’ve told him I thought his ways were jacked up. I’ve told him his love felt more like punishment. I’ve told him we were no longer on speaking terms. Gosh I’m grateful he waited me out.

Here’s the thing about God … he never turns his back on us, even when we’re being ungrateful brats. He will not forsake us. He will never stop using every thing in our lives, and I do mean everything … every bad decision, every harmful action, every setback and delay, every loss, every hardship and every disappointment, for something good.

Get ready to glow in his power sister! This will be used. Nothing is wasted.

You don’t have to settle for a dull, meaningless and useless life, let it be broken and see the greater purpose God has planned for you! I don’t know what is coming as a result of the brokenness you’re currently experiencing, but I trust it’s going to be something darn good!

Glow on my sister!