Blessed to be Broken

“In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” ~ James 2:25 (NIV)

Psssst. Can I let you in on a little secret? It’s hard to be like Jesus. Just when I think I’m doing a pretty good job of being more Christlike, another layer of a 500 pound onion is revealed. 

This morning, as I listened to my morning mediation on my Abide app, I was reminded of this little gem…

“Don’t let your past define you. AND don’t let someone else’s past define them.” From The Rahab in Us by Michael Foust 

It wasn’t the first part of that sentence that hit me. It was the latter half. The part that reminded me about grace. Not the grace I’ve received, but the grace I give or, ahem, don’t give. 

Don’t get me wrong, the grace I’ve received from my Heavenly Father is mind blowing, and still wrecks me in ways I never saw coming. His grace cannot be compared, measured, nor claimed as my own. 

But, I’m tentative and suspicious at best when it comes to extending grace. Can you picture my squinty eyed, raised eyebrow side glance? I have more than artfully chef kissed perfected this look.

Maybe you can’t grasp exactly what I’m talking about. That’s ok. I don’t always get it either. Let’s look at it from the perspective of the game Monopoly. 

Do you remember how you felt when you pulled the card that said, “Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200?” Irritated, and frustrated could easily describe how one felt. There’s nothing fun about board game jail. 

Once there, you had three ways to get out of jail. Roll a double, or pay a $50 fine, or use one of the two “Get out of jail free” cards. Do you remember how you felt either pulling that card or having it in your possession?

It was indeed a time of jubilation. Yep, I said jubilation. It’s what popped in my head, so I’m using it. 

That’s grace in its most simplistic form my friend. It’s a get out of jail free card. There’s nothing like the feeling of God’s amazing grace setting you free from past betrayals against Him. 

It’s also easy to forget about it once you’ve received it. Especially when someone has done you, or a family member, or loved one, wrong. 

So how do you move past holding onto offense? Let me present a reminder from the book of Romans 3:23-24:

“…for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and ALL are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” ~ NIV (Emphasis added) 

ALL. It may not be a big word, but it has big meaning. All means everyone. Including me. Including you. No one is so righteous they’re above having sinned and falling short of the glory of God.

Yet, ALL are justified FREELY by His Grace through me. Nope. Not me. Through Christ Jesus. And everyone said Hallelujah. Thank you King Jesus! 

What’s that mean? Even if I dig my heels in and refuse to extend grace to another, God won’t refuse to extend the grace needed. 

In fact, God can use what we won’t forgive. Whatcha talking bout Trish? I’m so glad you asked. 

Let’s go back in the book of Exodus and look at Moses. You may have heard of him. He was a murderer. That’s right, a felon. Yet, God used him mightily in setting His people free from slavery. 

Why would God choose to use Moses knowing what He knew about him? I’d like to say I knew for certain why He chose Moses, but I can’t. 

I don’t even think Moses knew why God chose him. Lord knows he came up with his own excuses why he wasn’t worthy to be used by God for His plans and purposes. 

What I do know based on God’s word and character is, He looks at the heart of man. Don’t take my word for it. Let’s look at 1 Samuel 16:7: 

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”” (ESV) 

Of course in this particular verse it’s referring to when David, a mere shepherd boy was to be anointed King. That’s right. A shepherd boy became King. 

Throughout the Bible God uses ALL manners of people to carry out His plans. He doesn’t limit Himself to only good and righteous people. If that were the case, we’d all be doomed. Because, say it with me, ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 

Believe it or not, that’s good news. It means no one is better than me. I may think I’m better than someone. Someone else may think they’re better than me. But, by God’s measuring stick, me and you…or is that you and me…either way, we’re are part of the ALL. 

So, I guess knowing who God is, is imperative to understanding His ways. But when I don’t understand His ways, like using a felon like Moses to carry out His plans, then having faith in who He says He is, and what’ll He do, is what’s called trust. 

Which leads me to this question. Where do you trust God the least? I’ll give you a clue. Check your heart. That’s where the answer is. 

For me, it’s the thing that won’t let my brain go. It’s the thing that’s ruminates over and over. It’s the thing I think I need to fix. It’s the thing that makes me rely on my own understanding. It’s the thing that I hold onto so strongly that if I let it go, I won’t know who I am without it. It’s the scary thing that keeps me from God. The thing that typically makes me feel shame and want to hide. 

That thing for me and you, God already knows. Holding onto anything that we think separates from God breaks His heart. He’s made it abundantly clear in His word that nothing can separate us from His love. 

Romans 8:38-39 states: 

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NLT)

Talk about some GRACE! And here is where we find the strength to extend back what has already been given. His strength over our weakness. His unconditional love over our own conditional love. His perfect ways over our flawed ways.

Friend, this is the day the Lord has made. I pray you rejoice in it as you receive ALL that He has for you.