The Broken Pieces of Our Lives

Tonight, I am up or maybe I should say, this morning!!!  But the fact remains that I am up!!!


Do I ever sleep, you might ask??? 


Well, yes!!!  As a matter of fact, I usually sleep very well!!!


I just sometimes keep odd hours!!!


I started to say that I was up at a very ungodly hour tonight, but the truth is that GOD IS ALWAYS THERE!!!


In the quiet stillness of the night, GOD is most assuredly there!!! 


On the sunniest day, GOD is there!!!


Whether the sea looks calm or the storms are raging, GOD IS THERE!!!

Matthew 14:24-27 (CEV)

²⁴ By this time the boat was a long way from the shore. It was going against the wind and was being tossed around by the waves.

²⁵ A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples.

²⁶ When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming.

²⁷ At once, Jesus said to them, “Don’t worry! I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid.”



You see, The LORD always knows when we are in the midst of a storm!!!  HE knows when trouble comes!!! 

GOD IS THERE!!!  And HE is waiting on us to seek HIM!!!  It is our choice!!!
 


It just seems easier for me to seek HIM when there is less noise(less hustle and bustle.)  So, now is most definitely a perfect time to seek The Lord!!!  


And, that is what I am doing right now because this is one of those rare occasions when I cannot sleep!!!


You see, I know exactly what is wrong with me!!!  I know exactly why I couldn’t rest and go to sleep!!!  I did NOT spend enough time with GOD today!!!  I did NOT get enough of Jesus today!!!


So, when I laid down and tried to go to sleep, ALL of the thoughts of the day began to crowd in on me!!!


Mark 6:30-31 (CEV)

³⁰ After the apostles returned to Jesus, they told him everything they had done and taught.

³¹ But so many people were coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone and get some rest.”


And so now, I bring the broken pieces of my life to God knowing that ONLY my FATHER in Heaven can take that which is truly broken and seemingly unfixable and turn it into something beautiful!!!


As I write, The Lord reminds me of how HE took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, and “blessed and broke them.”  After giving thanks to God, HE gave them to the disciples to feed the multitude!!!!

John 6:11 (CEV) Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat.

Luke 9:16-17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

¹⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.



You know, Jesus is supposed to be our example!!!  If we were wise, we would take our lives and offer them up to GOD and ask HIM to bless us and use us!!!  We would offer everything that we have to GOD!!!  We would pray, and ask God to bless us in ALL of our endeavors!!!  


Did you notice that the disciples did NOT bring the leftovers (the fragments) to Jesus and ask Him to bless them???  They brought the fish and the loaves to HIM to be blessed!!!

Matthew 14:17-21 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸ He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

¹⁹ Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.

²⁰ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

²¹ Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.


And that is what we should do!!!  When we are making plans, we should go to GOD and say, this is what I was thinking about doing.  Then we should listen as HE advises us!!!


But most often, even as Christians, we bring the mess that we have made to GOD and we ask HIM to fix it!!!  And HE DOES!!! 


We bring the fragments (our leftovers) to HIM and HE accepts them!!!  Then HE takes them and makes something beautiful!!!

Those of us who trust God know to bring the broken pieces of our lives and offer them up to GOD and ask HIM to bless us in our brokenness!!!  And HE does!!!  HE loves us that much!!!


GOD wants us to trust HIM with our lives!!!  HE wants us to come to HIM and bring our lives and ask HIM to BLESS US in ALL that we do!!!


Maybe if we did this more often, our lives wouldn’t seem so broken!!!  My life is so much more complete with JESUS!!!  My life isn’t perfect, but it is so much better with Jesus!!! 


Just like the calm before the storm, there are always times that it would seem that “ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!!!”  And it just means that the devil is on the move!!!  He’s on the loose!!!


But even then, even in the storms, even when we feel tossed and broken to pieces, Jesus tells us to gather the fragments and come to HIM!!! 

John 6:12-13 (NKJV)

¹² So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”

¹³ Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.


The New Contemporary Version says,

John 6:12 (NCV) When they had all had enough to eat, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the leftover pieces of fish and bread so that nothing is wasted.”


Don’t you like that!!!

Jesus wants NOTHING in our lives to lost or wasted!!!! 


Not even the broken pieces!!!