Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion from The Way of the Wildflower by Ruth Chou Simons.
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You and I are vessels purposely placed in a broken world so we, and those around us, can know the power of God.
News of war, suffering, injustice, and pain. Sin that’s not just tolerated but celebrated. Lies repackaged as truths. People hurting other people. Ideologies that dishonor God.
If living in this world feels heavier than it does beautiful sometimes, you’re not alone, friend.
If the darkness seems overwhelming from where you’re attempting to let your light shine, may I remind you that there’s no corner of this fallen world not affected by sin and the brokenness it brings about?
It’s tempting to reform it, put a patch on it, refurbish it, or polish it up a bit, but no matter how hard we try or how innovative our ideas, the world around us — the world we’re a part of — is broken with the kind of disrepair that only the Great Physician can restore.
Many of us try to free ourselves from the weight of what we can’t fix by soothing ourselves with entertainment and excess. Too much alcohol, overspending, binge-watching, and endless scrolling. It’s easy to find temporary relief, but the fact remains:
The brokenness of this world is heavy.
And every not-how-it-ought-to-be situation we face can be traced back to the garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve chose their own way rather than God’s. Sin brought pain and death, not just physically but emotionally, spiritually, and relationally too.
We cry, “How can this be, Lord?” But when we consider human history of rejection of the perfect, all-satisfying fellowship with God as fully enough, we have to admit, “How could it not be this broken?” The fact that our world doesn’t implode as a result of its rebellion against God, but instead experiences joy, kindness, beauty, and hope, is grace. All grace.
The fact that our world doesn’t implode as a result of its rebellion against God, but instead experiences joy, kindness, beauty, and hope, is grace. All grace.
As we acknowledge how we got here and give thanks for glimpses of grace, the question remains: How do we live amid such brokenness?
According to Peter, the answer is, “With rejoicing.” Consider his exhortation to believers suffering amid injustice:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. — 1 Peter 1:3–7
According to Peter, we can rejoice because:
We have been born again.
We have a living hope.
We have a secure inheritance.
The trials we endure are not in vain.
God is glorified and praised through the perseverance of our faith.
Because of Jesus, all this is true. And, according to Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, we live amid brokenness “with purpose.”
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. — 2 Corinthians 4:7–10
Do you see it? You and I are vessels purposely placed in a broken world (for just a little while) so we, and those around us, can know the power of God — in spite of the brokenness and heaviness around us. The beauty of this reality is that vessels needn’t provide or produce; they’re simply conduits. What a comfort!
Our God restores, heals, and bears our greatest burdens. He carries us when we can’t carry the weight of sin and sin’s consequences on our own. And He delights to show Himself faithful.
How would we know His ways if not for the great need we have for brokenness to be restored? How would a broken world experience the power of God if not for vessels that deliver hope amid helplessness?
The brokenness we’re living in is not part of your story by accident. God has placed you, purposefully, right where you are, so you might know where true hope comes from and point others to Him as well.
So take heart, child of God. You are not meant to bear the weight of brokenness or to numb yourself to it. The brokenness and heaviness of heartache around you (and sometimes inside you) is not a problem for you to figure out how to fix.
Instead, the broken world you experience is an opportunity for you to be a vessel of hope in a way that only one who knows this world is not her home can be. You were made to be a conduit of God’s power to restore, God’s power to repair, God’s power to bear the load. Not crushed, not driven to despair. Not forsaken, not destroyed. If you are in Christ, you have the true treasure that this broken world needs. Let it fill you up, and may it overflow.
Alpine Aster
Aster alpinus
The word aster stems from the Greek asteri, meaning “star” because of its star-like shape. Though it dates back to ancient Greece and is native to parts of Europe and Asia, it can be found all over the world today. It’s reported that “asters thrive in lots of different conditions, including ones other flowers find intolerable.”
Let the aster be a picture of what it means to be resilient — rooted in Christ. Can we still thrive in conditions others might find intolerable because of the hope we have? Can we shine like a star, a light in the darkness, to help others find their way?
Excerpted with permission from The Way of the Wildflower by Ruth Chou Simons, copyright Ruth Chou Simons.
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Your Turn
Are you carrying the weight of the world today? God carries us when we can’t carry the weight of sin and sin’s consequences on our own. He delights to show Himself faithful. Today, let’s find our hope in Him! ~ Devotionals Daily