Colleen and I have embarked on a long and arduous journey to capture the essence of what’s available for each believer in a book we’ve entitled Embracing Brokenness. Sound familiar? We’ve been writing off and on for over 2 years now. There’s much that God has for us to communicate in this project. The most significant being the discovery of our true-self through the brokenness of our past. If that sounds like a big topic to tackle you would be correct. It is. Yet, it’s a message that’s been told by many, but few have immersed themselves in the process. And it is just that. A process.
It starts with a surrender of the heart. You know, that part of us that would rather do things our own way. For most of us, it hasn’t panned out real well. Nor did it for our founding father and mother. One, Adam and Eve. When they (we too) decided it would be enlightening to know good AND evil the result was disastrous. An exile of sorts was then required. Living in perfect harmony with God and His creation was set aside for another way. Not exactly the way they thought it would be. Just look around us. In fact, God was so “frustrated” with humans that He, in effect, decided to start over. Gathering Noah and his family for a little boat ride.
We’ve been sinning in our own dysfunctional way ever since. Here’s the good news though. There is a process to recover that which was seemingly lost. Our true-self. Our identity apart from this world. The one God created uniquely for each individual that’s ever lived. So it’s not about the sin, it’s about the Savior. John Eldredge said it well in his book Walking With God.
“I have to remember this: the issue is never the presenting sin. The issue is the surrender, however subtle, of our hearts. The open door, the agreement. What follows is the enemy’s real goal—our separation from God and from our true selves. I think most Christians never see the battle. They think they crave evil things, and they embrace the resulting contempt for their own hearts as true conviction. Then they assume that, of course, God is going to be distant and they live under all of that for years. ‘My heart is evil. I am such a wretch. Of course God is distant.’ They think that’s the Christian life. ………… But it’s not.”
Ok, this is good. Do you see how slick the enemy is? He wants us to have contempt for our own hearts. The belief that we just need to plough through this life without anything other than regret and repentance. What a disaster that yields.
Let’s be real here. God does require a surrendering of our heart and our will to be self-sufficient but He doesn’t drop the ball right there. Our destiny awaits. The Christian life is full of hope and adventure. Of uncharted territory and the thrill of seeing God navigate that territory on our behalf. BUT….. it requires surrender.
Our true-self shows up even in our dysfunctional-self. We need re-interpretation and healing in the presence of Almighty God to live out our destiny and identity as His Children.
That’s the challenge. The answer for you will be a unique one that requires a personal and intimate relationship with Him. But first, we must know WHO He is before we can know WHO we are.
And that’s the memo.
Steve
