Broken

My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.

-- Job 17:1

How would you label yourself with a single word?

Would you say generous, energetic or perhaps successful? What about lonely, abused or divorced? How about broken?

The fact is that we're all broken in one way or another. But the good news for Christ-followers is that we worship a Creator who truly understands. And whether we're the victim or the victimizer in our shattered state, God's grace is enough to help us overcome.

What is grace? It's God's blessings to undeserving people like you and me. There's nothing we can do to earn it. We just need to accept it, embrace it and live it with transformed lives through our faith in Jesus. Grace is also what keeps us together when everything is coming apart. In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote about his own brokenness and how God answered his prayers through the power of grace:

"...Three times I begged the Lord for it to leave me, but his reply has been, '...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

That's much-needed reassurance as we begin the holiday season--particularly when the vibrant reds and greens of Christmas seem deep blue for many broken, hurting people. But that's when God gets into the act.

The Bible tells us that long before the world was formed, God knew our names. He knew when and where we would be born, what sort of life we would lead and when we would die. And he also knew that we would need a Savior from our failures and shortcomings. We could never save ourselves against the judgement we all deserve. So God decided to do it himself by personally living the human experience on Earth through his Son, Jesus Christ.

By literally becoming God with us, Jesus truly understands our sorrows and brokenness--whether it's December 25 or any day of the year. He's also promised his followers that he will never leave them or forget them. As a broken people, let's embrace the truth that it's with his grace we not only survive, but thrive...and pick up the pieces.