Out of the Valley: 7 Days to Processing Brokenness and Getting to Hopeنمونہ

[IMAGE CONTENT] One of the hardest things to do in our brokenness is to acknowledge what forms our brokenness takes in our life. Brokenness can dress up like anxiety: anxiety triggered by a real trauma, a chemical imbalance, or rooted in a very real fear about the “not yet,” but “could be.” Brokenness is the boulder that depression seems to always be trying to push up the hill, always rolling us over. Brokenness can be the cycle of abandonment in our lives that keeps us from trusting people or even beginning to hope that anyone could ever stay and find us worthy of love. Brokenness, a lot of times, is the constant reminder of the life we lost, whether of a loved one or a dream we had for ourselves that was forever torn away. It can come into our lives in a moment, going from something that has happened to us to becoming a habit we don’t know how to quit because it simultaneously makes us feel like we deserve the unhealthy relationships it has cultivated for us or the cycles of addiction it thrives in. Brokenness will cling to anything that makes us feel like there is no more hope left to reach for. But, God. There’s this beauty of the Gospel that simultaneously creates a space for all of that brokenness to be true and real in our lives while also taking that brokenness and turning it into our strength. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, we are given this encouragement, this battle cry from God as we march through the inevitable valleys of our lives: “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Our natural reaction to the painful parts of our story is to shy away, to avoid talking about those hard moments that shaped us. Shame will try to snuff out God’s glory in our lives. But in Jesus’ story, He wants us to remember that our brokenness isn’t left there. No, when He sees our brokenness, He accounts for its purpose. He sees it as an opportunity to give us a piece of Himself. But we know all too well that this great trade of weakness for strength, brokenness for hope, can only happen when we stare the dark parts of our story square in the face and say, “I’m yelling a loud no to the enemy, and taking back what he would use for my destruction so that God can turn it into good. I’m making room for hope.” Jesus said, "It is finished," when He took His last breath on the cross, so we don't want to make the valley our home.