Tag Archives: helpless

You’re Broken, Not Defective

You might be broken, but you’re not defective. They’re not the same thing, not at all.

You could think of it like this. You make a clay pot and put it in the kiln. When you take it out, the handle falls off, and the bottom crumbles. That’s defective. It wasn’t made well. It’s junk. You make another clay pot and it turns out beautiful. Then someone drops it on the floor. Now it’s broken. It was made perfectly, but later it got damaged.

That is me, and maybe you, too. Most importantly, it’s Jesus. Brokenness is something he, you, and I all have in common. He was perfect, but he got thrown on the floor and broken. He was abused, taken advantage of, and violated in the worst possible way. (See also
https://freespiritseedcompany.com/2022/01/22/2/)

He was broken — all the way broken — maybe just like you.

Your heavenly Father defines who you are, not your brokenness.

He was forsaken by his friends, beaten repeatedly, tortured.

But that is very different from being defective.

Your heavenly Father defines who you are, not your brokenness. Not other people. And not even you. He made you wonderful, the Bible says (Psalm 139:14). He is The Highest Artisan, and he personally handcrafted you, right there in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).

Maybe someone lied and said you’re a mistake, an accident, should never have been born. I’m gonna be honest and say your Creator drew the detailed blueprints for you way before you were ever conceived. Before time began, to tell the truth. So no, you’re no accident. You have purpose. You should ask him to reveal that to you. It might be as simple as, “He put me here to praise him.”

A defective pot is worthless and useless. But a handsome, beautiful pot that has been shattered only needs to be put back together. He can do that with you, just like happened with Jesus. It’s his specialty.

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.” ‭‭Joel‬ ‭2‬:‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

That is an agricultural image. Picture endless miles of crops. Millions of insects descend on it, devour, and leave it in shreds. Maybe that is like many of the years in your life. It is mine. Somehow, he is slowly restoring to me ‘the years the locust has eaten,’ piece by piece. He’s putting my broken pieces back in place. It’s mysterious, but he can repay to you everything you lost, as he promised. Just keep following him, and don’t give up.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬
If he can make us from the dust, can’t he remake us, too?

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

It’s Ok If You’re Afraid

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32

Somebody is afraid. Maybe with good reason. God is not angry at you for feeling scared. Are you going to bring it to him? Or carry it yourself. He is not mad, but just understand you don’t have to be afraid.

Isn’t that what Psalm 23 is about? “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” That means you’re surrounded by evil. It’s dark, shadowy. The normal response is to fear. Father says you can be inside the evil and not fear it because He is with you in it.

When talking about God as our Father, sometimes I think of my dad — who happens to be a very good one — and I think how God is similar to him. But the other day somebody upgraded my thinking.

God was a Father before my dad was, right? So it’s probably more accurate to say it the other way around. My dad is a tiny bit like God is, rather than God resembles my dad.

Both statements are true, of course. My point is not to split hairs, only to say everything good we experience, if we get right down to it, originated inside God himself.

For example, the Bible says, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Romans 11:36. That would include trustworthiness and generosity for example. Humans didn’t invent those.

So if your best friend can be trusted and likes to give and share a lot, it’s kind of like God is saying, “I put this person in your life to show you a bit about what I’m really like.”

Or if somebody is merciful, he is saying, “Here is a little glimpse of what it’s like to be around me.”

All the good and delightful things we experience are peeks into what Father’s character is like. Each displays part of his nature that he’s invited us to dive deeper into. It’s all to draw us into closer communion with him.

Grief, I’m thinking, also shows a bit about what goes on in his heart. If he made us like him — “in his image” the Bible says in Genesis 1:26 — everything about us (except sin) would probably reflect part of who he is. Creativity … engineering … anger when people mess with your kids … writing poetry … jealousy if your spouse is cheating … laughter … love for great music. And grief.

I’m getting a little deep here, but I think grief is another way God is giving us a view into how he feels.

“Jesus wept.”
John 11:35

“And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”
Genesis 6:6

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God“
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭30‬a

He’s letting us experience what he experiences.

How do you think he felt the day his Son died?

Loss is not necessarily good. But the ability to grieve over it is.

And the experience of grief is something God felt before we did. If knowing his heart is important for us, this is probably another way he is letting us ‘in,’ making us a little more like him. He felt all that we feel, and he felt it first.

We can say, “Jesus, I am completely devastated. I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest and crushed into pulp.” And he can say, “Yep. Me, too. Been there.”

That, of course, isn’t the whole story.

He is also the Party God. He invented succulent food, warm friendship, perfect sunny weather, children, lovers, laughter and comedy. When we enjoy any wholesome pleasure, he is again letting us feel what he experiences. Plus, if we consider what the Bible promises us in the next life (consider reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn), the real parties haven’t even started yet.

Forty Ways Jesus is Like Me, and Maybe You, #9

He got soaking wet in a river.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ‘Mark 1:9-10

Picture it. You’ve seen rivers. Most of them are a little murky. Maybe the water was high from rains upstream, with leaves and muddy twigs in eddies swirling beside the bank.

Up he comes out of the water, the same way we do. Wet hair sticks to his face. He’s drenched. Water dribbles off his sopping clothes, the drip, drip, dripping of clear beads from his beard back onto the river.

Stepping ashore, he leaves a soaked, muddy trail in the dry dirt, which fades after twenty minutes in the sun.

Maybe he went swimming afterwards. Why not? He was human.

If you feel fearful about the future, me, too. I struggle with it every single day. Often it’s on my mind when I wake up before I’m even out of bed, frequently during the day, and when I lie down. Covid. Civil unrest, nationally and worldwide, politics, etc.


My stomach stays in knots. I get withdrawn and irritable when I’m afraid, which is a lot.
Sing-songy Sunday School verses and cartoon Bible stories profit me nothing when I am afraid like this.


“Everything that could be shaken was shaken, And all that remains is all I ever really had,” articulated Rich Mullins.


When I look around me, everything is shakable. My health, my family, my freedom, all of it.


Sometimes the world looks hopeless, which is a ghastly word if you think about what it really means.

The Sovereignty of God is my only Rock, the only fixed point in the swirling tempest. He has not made the suffering around me go away, but he is my anchor in the middle of it.


I have hope because *he* holds onto *me.* If you can get what I’m saying, God doesn’t help those who help themselves. He helps those who can’t. He helps me when my strength is zero. I am not a strong, rugged individual, an army of one. I am helpless.


‘For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” ‘Isaiah 41:13

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28


Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10