The Japanese art of Kintsugi, celebrating the flaws and the breaks with gold!

The God who mends the Broken! Part 2

or Brokenness – one of God’s tools to shape us!

By Helen Jesze, 16^th July 2021

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit,”

Psalm 34: 17+18 ESV

“A broken reed He will not break [off] And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering]; He will faithfully bring forth justice,”

Isaiah 42:3-5 The Amplified Bible

Last week in Part 1, I shared about my nervous breakdown and how God brought me through this. Looking back I realised several factors had led to this illness. God wanted to show me these that I might not make this mistake again, and so I would be able to help others in similar situations. He showed me the following things:

1. I was working too hard and not having enough balance of work and play and relaxation. The T.L. Osborn office had only just opened in the UK, brought over from Europe, and staff who spoke and wrote German were in short supply. Later, four people took over the work that I had been doing alone.
2. We must know the boundaries of our strength. I always jumped in with two feet when I saw a need, but I had to learn there is a time to say “No”.
3. I was giving out more than I was taking in. I saw that sooner or later our spiritual, physical and mental ‘tank’ will be running on “empty”, if we are not very careful.
4. Through my childhood I had been plagued by certain fears, and God was trying to bring to the surface these and other negative things in my life, in order to heal and set me free. Because I had merely suppressed them, he had not been able to do the work of emotional healing he wanted to.
5. We must learn to take our strength from God and his Word, and not rely on our own ability. However great our abilities, talents or gifts, they must be consecrated to the Lord and put on his ‘altar’, to be purified and used as he wills.
6. It is dangerous to dwell on fear, sickness and trouble, for this brings us often into depression. We must learn to take our own and other people’s burdens to Jesus. He never intended us to go around like a spiritual beast of burden. This had been happening to me after dealing with these thousands of letters from needy people.
7. I found out the power of the spoken and written Word of God as never before, as I used it against the enemy, as a sword in my hand.
8. We must learn to be grateful for health, soundness of mind and so many things which we take for granted. It is God’s grace, not our smartness which showers these blessings upon us.
9. Instead of always being on the go, I learnt a new appreciation of sitting at the Master’s feet, and resting in him. I learnt there is a time to attack our enemy, and there is a time to let go and let God fight the battle for us, while we rest in him.
10. Never despise people who are suffering from “nerves”. They need compassion and help. Jesus is the great deliverer! We will never know how we would react, until we have walked in that other person’s shoes.

My subtitle is “Brokenness – one of God’s tools to shape us”

When we have gone through a time of brokenness, we may think that God can never use us again, or that we have failed him and others. However, I have seen on many occasions God can take that very thing and make it fruitful. We can come out of the experience with new compassion and a strength which we are now taking from the Lord, instead of trusting in our own.

Several years ago I attended some seminars at a Christian conference, which were held by Pastor Kindah Greening from the Gold Coast, Australia, entitled: Dealing with grief and loss. He had lost his talented young daughter, a dedicated Christian, after minor surgery. He had been very close to her and he was plunged into deep sorrow. He was the senior pastor of a large church, had a Bible College and was well-known, often travelling to minister elsewhere. By many, he was looked upon as ‘God’s man of faith and power’! Now it seemed he had nothing left.

Pastor Greening’s minister friends often gave him ‘pat’ answers, throwing Scripture ‘darts’ at him, wounding him still further. He really needed someone to put an arm round him, or just sit quietly, praying only when and as the Holy Spirit led them. His wife and he nearly separated as they both dealt with this loss in different ways. But God brought them through and he came out with a new understanding. The Lord directed him to look at the announcements of people who had died in their local newspapers. A new ministry started in the church, as they sent a bunch of flowers, a Sympathy card, with words similar to this:

“Dear friend, Please accept our condolences for your loss. We are praying for you. Please let us know how we can help you.” They also offered practical help to bereaved families. One year later, they would again send flowers and a card to the bereaved. God used this to reach non-church families and comfort people in distress.

Kindah also started seminars. He would take over a hotel for a weekend, advertising in non- Christian periodicals. Doctors, lawyers and many business people came to hear him. He would speak at first about dealing with grief and loss in business, personal life and later, bring in how God had helped him; this was a new method of introducing the Gospel.

God turned around for good, what Satan had meant for evil!

Brokenness can become a tool in the hand of God to shape us and our character, and also to open new avenues of service and blessing to others. This can happen to you, too! It’s not sunset but sunrise – a NEW DAY dawning!

“…Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning,”

Psalm 30:5b JKV