Often times I have felt broken; most of when, I knew I deserved to be, as a result of the bad choices I made. But then there are times when I’m broken not because of anything that I have done. Times that were beyond my control. These circumstances makes me question. Why? Why the pain and the suffering? I don’t deserve this. This is not my fault.

Joseph from the Bible would have probably asked similar questions. He was thrown in the well and sold to slavery, when he was only 17, by his own jealous brothers. What did he do wrong to deserve the shame of standing naked in the markets of Egypt when Potiphar’s wife bought him? Or when he was thrown in jail for integrity? In the end we do know that God worked it out, but for 13 years his life was going haywire. I can’t imagine the brokenness he carried. But those years were not wasteful, as God used his brokenness to be a blessing.

In Luke 8, we see Jesus multiplying the 5 loaves and 2 fish by breaking them. After they were distributed, there were 12 basketful of broken pieces left. Broken pieces became the symbol of God’s blessing.

Our times of being broken can turn out to be a blessing, if we surrender to God. Isn’t that wonderful? David writes in Psalms 51, “a broken heart and a contrite spirit is all you need.”

God does not despise a broken heart.

I’m assured that He can turn my brokenness into a blessing.