She BelongsVoorbeeld

## A Place for Your Broken Pieces What, if anything, keeps you from believing you could live a life of belonging with Jesus and His body? You may have experienced a broken relationship with a spouse, a friend, a child, or a fellow member of the body of Christ. Past sins may have shattered your hopes of ever being acceptable to God. Maybe it’s not your own brokenness you’re grappling with but the brokenness of a world that’s unraveling all around you. You may have read headlines about church conflict or pondered social media disputes that come across your feed and have thus concluded it’s not really possible to belong anywhere this side of heaven. It’s true: There is a security that will be found only when sin is no more and we dwell eternally in the perfect presence of God. However, I believe we can exist in a broken world and still experience belonging. Belonging isn’t the absence of brokenness—it’s the presence of a Healer. For a long time, I tried to hide any pain or brokenness in my life, but God began to pull back the bandages I had placed over my wounds. I didn’t understand why we had to do this. It felt so much safer to keep them covered up. But God gently revealed to me the infections that penetrate untreated heart wounds. What comfort it is to read that God is near to us when we are brokenhearted! He saves us, heals our pains, and comforts our sorrows. I love how The Message paraphrases Psalm 34:18: “If your heart is broken, you’ll find GOD right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.” Because God is faithful to comfort and able to heal, you don’t have to hide or ignore the broken places of your heart. Instead, you can release your shattered heart to Him and receive the nearness and healing of the Lord. “By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Bring your brokenness to Jesus. Instead of tirelessly trying to fix things yourself, let Him heal you and bind your wounds. Let Jesus put the broken pieces of your heart back together. In prayer, surrender any broken places you’ve been trying to keep together. Tell God your frustrations or fears, and ask Him to help you trust Him in your brokenness and heal you.