Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-18.
All these pieces
Broken and scattered
In mercy gathered
Mended and whole
Have you ever felt “broken and scattered”? Like the pieces of your life just didn’t fit together? Or like an old puzzle, you can’t even find some of the pieces anymore? Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” His richness in mercy is what makes us whole, what brings us from death to life. Surrender the scattered pieces of your life, and watch Him begin to put you back together.
Empty handed
But not forsaken
I’ve been set free
I’ve been set free
Have you noticed how the Kingdom life can often be contradictory? How we can often experience the same things as the rest of the world, but have a completely different view on them? 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” What are you experiencing in your life right now that leaves you feeling this way? Take a moment to offer these things before the Lord, and be encouraged by these promises. That though we may sometimes be taken to the brink, or even fall over it, the landing place will always be in the arms of a loving God.
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost
But now I am found
Was blind but now I see
Do you ever wonder if God still does miracles? Just as Christ brought sight to the blind, so too, He continues to bring sight to the spiritually blind. Illuminating His truth in our lives. And just as the father in the story of the prodigal son says in Luke 15:24, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”, so too our Father in Heaven rejoices when His children come back to Him. Thank Him for His grace in taking us back, even though we stray.
I can see it now
I can see the love in Your eyes
Laying Yourself down
Raising up the broken to life
Continuing with 2 Corinthians 4:13-14, “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.” Rest in this promise of hope that in laying down His life for you, Christ ensured that you would also be raised with Him, both in the trials of this life and to life eternal.
You take our failure
You take our weakness
You set your treasure
In jars of clay
So take this heart Lord
I’ll be your vessel
The world to see
Your life in me
Your life in me. The Bible says we are supposed to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). And while that is a good thing, what if that was all there is? Doesn’t Christ call us to something deeper than that? When the Bible says be transformed, does that mean become a better copy of Christ? Or is it something more? When the Bible says be reborn, or be transformed, I believe there’s something bigger at stake. Acting like Christ is a good place to start, but by no means is that where God wants us to remain. The change has to be deeper than surface level. But don’t think you can get there on your own. It’s only through God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” You see, imitation is something WE do. Transformation is something HE does. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The world doesn’t need a bunch of people “living like Christ”. It needs Christ, alive in His people, bringing love and hope to a broken world. Choose today to surrender. Crucify your old life, so that the resurrected life of Christ may take its place. Only then will you experience the wholeness that God had always intended for your life.
Jeremy