Broken

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

– 1 John 1:9

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 it.

What is grace? It’s God's blessings to undeserving people like you and me. There's nothing we can do to earn it. Instead, 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."

The Bible tells us that God knew our names long before the world was formed. He knew when and where we’d be born, what sorts of lives we’d lead, and when we’d die. And he also knew that we’d need a Savior. That’s because we can never save ourselves from the judgment we deserve for the countless ways we fall short of his perfect standards. So, God decided to do it himself by personally living out the human experience on Earth through his Son, Jesus Christ.

By becoming God with us, Jesus truly understands our sorrows and brokenness. And he not only promised his followers that he'd never leave them or forget them, he also paid their sin-debt through his death on the cross. So as a weak, broken people, let’s embrace the truth that it's with his grace we not only survive, we also thrive in strength … and pick up the pieces. Because when all else fails (especially us), God doesn’t.