STAY FIT: Strengthening Your Connection To JesusSample

Suffering is one of life’s more somber realities. Whether it’s in a relationship or a difficult circumstance, we all experience suffering to some degree. Not only do we experience it, but we also have to deal with it. There are two options when it comes to suffering: we can turn bitter or we can embrace brokenness.  

Bitterness causes us to focus on the “unfair” scoreboard of life and ultimately breeds resentment. On the other hand, brokenness—while a difficult reality to embrace—can create unique opportunities for God to use us.

When Jesus fed the 5,000, he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples to distribute. There are several applications pertaining to brokenness in this story. Just like the bread passed through the hands of Jesus so it could be distributed to the hungry masses, our moments of brokenness always pass through the hands of our good and faithful heavenly Father. 

Our stories are bigger than we are, as is our brokenness. When we, like the disciples, embrace the broken pieces that are handed to us, those pieces can be used to nourish other people. Our current sufferings pale in comparison to what God wants to do in us if we will only lean into our brokenness and allow God to have his way. It’s at this point of surrender that God is able to reveal his glory through us.

In our times of brokenness, the most comforting thing to remember is that the bread was in Jesus’ hands when it was broken. His hands are more than capable of holding us in our brokenness and charting a path for through which his glory can be revealed. 

Lauren Espy
Gwinnett Church