Broken | Thankful Thursday

 

Hey everyone! Today I am going to tell you why I am thankful for the broken things. Thank you for joining me on this Thankful Thursday.

I have a broken windshield. It started with a small crack in the glass. You can see it here:

That was in Alabama. It was like that when I purchased my vehicle. It was just the one little place, not the cracks to the left and to the right. In Alabama, it rarely got cold enough to require defrost to thaw out a window, so it never became an issue. It was just there as a constant reminder that the windshield was not perfect, but it did not obstruct my view and I did not see a reason to purchase a new windshield for one small flaw.

The Holy Spirit started ministering to me. This is how we are in our spiritual walk with God. We may see a sign of decay but we choose to ignore it. We say things like, "It's not hurting anyone else," or "It's just a small flaw, we all have issues." And when we are in certain seasons of life we can get by without checking our heart. It is dangerous to do this, but many of us, including Christians, will choose to go about their business without dealing with the issue that is in front of them. It is a constant reminder that there is something in your life you have not dealt with and we can choose to shift our eyes to the clear parts of our lives and ignore the flawed parts.

Something interesting happened. God told Paul that it was time to move back to Indiana. He had already told me but I had to wait for Paul to let me know what God had told him. He did not know God had put the same idea in my heart at the very same time he put it in Paul's. We are one flesh, so of course God would do that, but we do not always think of that at the time. I did not want to move back. None of us really wanted to uproot and do the whole moving and trusting God thing again. It is hard. If you have never done it, it is very hard, but we knew God is faithful and He would take care of us. So we moved back on Kadesia's birthday 12/27/20.

In Indiana it is winter and trust and believe it does not play with cold temperatures. We were having a true winter with snow and everything. (All the things I dislike.) So I had to go to work and I put on my defrost like I had done oodles of times in my life living in Hoosier winters. One morning my windshield cracked from the center flaw to the left and to the right a few inches either way. I did not know what to do. My jaw dropped!

Holy Spirit said in the right conditions that is the same thing that happens to us in the spiritual realm. We are just going about our business, doing what we know we have to do to survive, and then the small flaw becomes an even bigger one. My windshield cracked down low, which you can see in the picture below. Since it was below my line of vision to drive, I ignored it. It was okay. I still did not want to address the cracked windshield right in front of my face, but it was always a source of stress for me. 

Each time I got into the car I was reminded that my windshield needed to be fixed. The crack that shoots off to the right was not there at this time. So I just kept ignoring it. I did not have the extra money to buy a windshield. I was not sure my insurance would cover it (they didn't). So I simply ignored the fact that I had a busted windshield and needed a new one. Sometimes it was like I forgot it was even there.

Holy Spirit said we can be so comfortable in our sin that after a while we just forget it's there. We are losing close fellowship with Jesus and we do not even realize it because it is so gradual and we are so aloof about it. This is dangerous! We have to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit's nudges for us to check our hearts.

Well a year passed and guess what. I am still in Indiana. I am in the winter season and this time my windshield cracked and it shot off to the right and then it curved and each day I saw it getting worse. I remember hearing the crunchy sound and as I looked up the line of cracked glass ran across the windshield another three inches. I was scared the windshield would shatter. 

Holy Spirit again said this is when people will finally wake up. There will come a time when you will be shook and you decide, "Okay! This is enough for me!" Now I prayed for God to help me with the windshield. I prayed He would provide the money for me to get my windshield fixed and praise God He has done exactly that! I received 4 brand new tires for my vehicle and a brand new windshield and it cost me absolutely nothing! That is God!

Sometimes we have to be broken in the Spirit and then we come to God with sorrow and repentance. He loves us and will forgive us. David said God does not want a sacrifice or burnt offering. We can sacrifice things, we can give tithes and offerings and not be in right standing with God. He does not want those things from us. Yes He wants us to tithe and give, but not in an effort to sweep everything else under the rug. He does not want us to go through the motions of religious protocol when our hearts are burdened with sin. This is why David writes these words:

PSALM 51:15-17 (15)O Lord, open Thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth Thy praise. (16)For Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. (17)The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.

My mouth is showing forth God's praise. He receives us in our brokenness. He mends us and helps us and loves us. He puts us back together. My mother is a resourceful woman. If something is broken, she carefully gathers the pieces, glues them all back like they were, and many times you cannot even tell where the flaw was. God does that for us. And if there are holes in our hearts where we have had gaping wounds, then just remember, it is just another area for God's light and love to shine through us onto others who have had similar circumstances.

If you are broken, caught up in sin, disobedient to the things He is calling you to do because you are scared, or maybe you have just allowed compromise to weaken your relationship with Jesus, please come to Him. God sees you broken and busted like my windshield. He will mend your heart for free! It will cost you nothing but you will enjoy freedom and joy like you have never known. Do not let your heart be troubled. Do not worry! Believe in Jesus Christ and His power to free you from sin.

1 JOHN 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I hope something I shared today has been encouraging for you. I hope it has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Healing Broken Hearts | Thankful Thursday

 

ISAIAH 63:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me: because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.

Jesus quoted this passage of scripture in Luke 4:18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." What a beautiful description of who Jesus is. He was sent to heal the brokenhearted and I can tell you that He is still healing broken hearts today.

I had just come off a fast. I was weak in the flesh but strong in my spirit. I was prepared to give a Word of Knowledge that God had given me for a specific church. I felt as though my chest would burst if I did not get the word out. I was given the word during a time of fasting and consecration to God. But, unfortunately someone misspoke something about me before the service and so I was not allowed to give that message. I was told to wait until later. I cannot tell you how grieved I felt in my soul and how grieved I felt the Holy Spirit had been.

I was confused and hurt because no one asked me if the accusations were true. The person who twisted the information did not do that to hurt me. They did not want to cause strife and division. They apologized and I believe they were sorry it had happened. I forgave them of course, but I was crushed. I did not want to go back to their church. I was so wounded I wanted to just leave. God did not want that for me though. I just kept thinking that my integrity should have made them question what was being said. But God wanted to teach me something in this situation. God said for me not to try to justify myself because He would exonerate me. God loves me and He wants me to keep growing and to keep pushing past obstacles and adversity. I know that He is still healing broken hearts because He did that for me. I was crushed and upset but my dear friend that I cherish reminded me of this:

2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-10 (7)But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power be of God, and not of us. (8)We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; (9)Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (10)Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18 (16)For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (17)For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (18)While we look not at the things which are seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

My friend really encouraged me with these verses. We can be wounded by friends, family, or anyone. (Zechariah 13:6) So what can I do? God gave me a gift. He allowed me to be hurt so He could teach me some things. He is my helper. He is my healer. He is my source of joy. He is my dearest friend. He is always with me. That does not change! Someone may choose to believe the worst about me, but that is between them and God. Like the Bible says in 2 Corinthians, these light afflictions are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Sometimes I get so caught up in wanting to please God that when I cannot do what He asked me to do, I feel like God is going to be upset with me. That is a lie from the enemy. The truth is He isn't upset with me. God knows I tried, but it was no use. God reminded me that it is not me they are rejecting, but it is Him. (1 Samuel 8:7)

I was able to pray for those who hurt me and ask God to bless them, encourage them, cause their ministry to grow, and for God's favor on their lives. I still care about them and want God to give them everything He promised them. You see it is not about me. Once I stopped feeling grieved because I could not give the message like God asked me to do, it did not hurt anymore. I know that God's words will not return void. God gave me the opportunity to read the message to my friend and then again to my husband and children, so the word went forth. I was still able to share the message, just not like I thought it would be. That is okay because God showed up in a big way for my friend after I shared that message. We had an opportunity to pray together and what an amazing experience that was to feel God's presence in the room.

If your heart has been broken, you feel sorrow instead of joy, and you feel wounded and rejected, take it to God. He will heal your broken heart. He will send others to you to minister to you. I have had so many words of encouragement spoken over me in the past few days. God is pouring the healing balm of Gilead into the deep recesses of my heart. (Jeremiah 8:22) He stopped the pain and lifted me up out of the pit. (Psalm 40:2) God will do the same for you. He loves His children and He is our Healer.

If you do not know Jesus, Friend, do not keep trying to do life on your own. It is so much better with Jesus. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother according to Proverbs 18:24. If you believe Jesus is the Son of the Living God, you can call upon Him and be saved. Acts 2:21 says, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Let this be the best day of your life. Ask Jesus to save you. Repent of your sins. When you recognize you need a Savior, all you have to do is call on Jesus and you will be saved. It is that simple. It takes child-like faith. If you do this, let someone know. Get into a good church with solid Biblical teaching. Read your Bible and if you do not have one, let me know and I will get one for you.

Life is so short. Let's not waste our days feeling sad and rejected. Jesus loves us all and He has not rejected us. We must focus on Jesus and not get caught up in what others say or do. Leave it all in the hands of the Master. God's Word will not return void. It will accomplish what He sent it forth to do. (Isaiah 55:11)

I hope that sharing my story will help someone else. It is hard for me to talk about my personal struggles because I am a private person and do not like to share things like that. I am doing so today to give God all of the praise, honor, and glory for picking me up, dusting me off, and healing my broken heart. This Thankful Thursday I have so much to thank God for. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens