Saved from Brokenness: Made Whole

"May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23

My seven year old said he had something to show me. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a smooth, blank sheet of paper. He said, "See this paper. When someone says something hurtful to you," he bends the corner of the paper, "it looks like this. Crinkled."  He went on, his demeanor serious, instructional,  "And then the next person hurts you," he begins to wad up the paper, "and it does this to you." He repeated this several times until the paper was a legitimate ball of crinkled mess ready for the trash. 

He continued, "But someone nice comes along and does something for you, and it begins to straighten you back out." He started to unwad the paper. "Then another person comes along and gives you a compliment, and you begin to straighten out some more." He proceeded to completely flatten out the paper as best as his little hands could.  

He tried his best to smooth the paper out on the table. "But do you see  no matter what someone else says or does, the paper still has lines and grooves of where it was damaged by the people saying bad things or doing bad things? Those lines and grooves can never go away." Apparently, he had seen this demonstration in a video. 

I smiled, "You're right, son. No person can make the lines and grooves go away. No person can erase all the hurt and the pain. But do you know who can?" 

He looked at me wide-eyed.

I reached for a clean, new piece of paper laying nearby.  I took his crinkled, messy, damaged piece of paper from him and handed him the new piece of paper as I said, "Jesus." 

"Jesus lets you trade in your pain and crumpled mess for a brand new sheet of paper. He doesn't just try and smooth out what you already have, He is the only one able to completely take it and give you a brand new start and a brand new heart. People can be used by Him to help us, but they aren't equipped to make us whole. God is not in the band-aid business. He's in the healing business. You don't have to live broken and messed up." 

My son smiled and said, "Huh," with an understanding I could tell penetrated his soul. He was pondering on my words. I smiled, thankful for the opportunity to share about a King, my King who is willing to make us whole. It's a lesson I want my children to learn at an early age and understand with their whole hearts. It's a lesson I am still working out in my walk daily. 

As I think back on various times in my life, I think about how the enemy wants  me to live broken and crumpled reminded of wounds and scars. He wants me to focus on inadequacies, regret, shame, fear, and guilt. But I have to choose, over and over again,  to focus on the one who is the restorer of my soul, the healer of my heart, the only one who can take it all away and give me a new sheet of paper. 

Can I ask you something? Are you living beaten down, victimized, holding on to the past, broken, and believing the lie you can never be whole again? Are you believing the lie that no one cares about you or that you are worthless? Are you believing your past is too dark and your heart is too broken? Are you believing you can't get past where your journey has taken you? 

If you are, I want to encourage your heart today. God is the God of more than enough. He can make you whole and set your feet on a rock. He can take the worst possible mess you can make,  and smother it in grace and mercy. He can turn around any situation with His love and goodness. If He can create the world, knit you together in your mother's womb, make blind eyes see, make the lame walk, and raise His son from the dead, He can easily perform a miracle in your life. A new heart is a miracle, my friends. 

Some of you have gone through some horrific, deep, dark, traumatic, bottom of the barrel hurts. You have seen things you shouldn't have seen, heard things you shouldn't have heard, and have had your share of betrayal. You may feel like damaged goods. You may say, "There's no way someone like me can be whole." The memories are still raw and painful. 

I'm convinced some get comfortable with their crumpled paper life, not believing God for wholeness. Some nurse self-pity like an old friend. The world wants you to believe it's not possible to live whole. The world wants you to believe you just have to struggle through day in and day out.  But remember, we aren't of this world. We're only passing through.

Some don't want to be whole, because there's a responsibility which comes with living whole. Allowing God to make you whole means you depend on Him, you don't hold on to the past, you don't throw up the past, you live a righteous and holy life, and you press toward a better tomorrow every day. You strive for more of Jesus every day. You allow Him in to your life, your decisions, your feelings, your thoughts, your heart. You give Him full reign. 

To begin the  journey to wholeness all you have to do is whisper His name--JESUS. Call on his name--JESUS. Lean on His name--JESUS. His name is powerful and never failing. When you don't know what else to say, say the name of JESUS. 

Jesus. 

Jesus. 

Jesus. 

What are you waiting for? Ask Him to make you whole and have the faith to believe He will. For some, it happens instantly. For others, it can be a process. A process He uses to mold us, sift out the chaff,  and shape us for our destiny and purpose.  But it all starts with being willing to allow Him to work. It all starts by calling upon His name.  

If you don't know where to start, start by playing this song expecting God to move in your life: