If everyone could package themselves, we would mark our box with a large red label that had these exact words on them.
Whenever we move from one place to another, we expect the transition to be heavily cushioned with lots of newspaper and padded with packing peanuts. No one desires to be broken, rather we prefer to be handled with care.
What I've come to learn is that God is not so much concerned with our comfort as He is with our character. If brokenness is what He must use to perfect our character, then its His tool of choice and honor! Quite frankly, He glories in brokenness...
...in those who are 'shattered, maimed, devoid of arrogance, wounded, injured, grieved, stressed, crippled, wrecked, fractured, handicapped, disabled, demolished' and weak.
God loves us enough to call us out. This process leads to brokenness and is the 'spiritual state by which one is disarmed of ones self-dependence & pride, leaving one a realistic conduit for the glory of Christ.'
Truth be told, we don't want to be opened up, and because of that, it prevents us from being teachable in the handiwork of God. Unless we remove the newspaper as a buffer and throw away the packing peanuts that protect our emotions and hearts, we won't allow brokenness to cause us to be desperate enough to chase after the heart of God.
How do I take myself out of the FRAGILE labeled box, shake off the packing foam and prepare myself for brokenness? By being open to the possibilities of failure of our own personal pursuits in efforts to produce God's (and sometimes our) desired end.
No worries, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 sympathizes with this apprehension we may have when it says, "We are troubled and oppressed in every way, but not crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed. Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!" [Amplified and NLT version combined].
Brokenness is the new fragile!
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