Brokenness Is Worth the Brag

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:7

Have you ever felt the need to brag about something you've done or something you own? Chances are, at the time, you either felt a little out of your league and believed boasting could make you larger, or you smelled someone else's fear or weakness and the survival-of-the-fittest in you took the opportunity to go in for the kill. But have you ever bragged about something you don't have the resources to do, something you will likely never be able to accomplish or own, or something you've done that was a complete flop? In John 10:14, Jesus calls His followers sheep. He says He is the Shepherd and we are His sheep. Well, who wants to be a sheep, right? Aren't sheep incapable of doing much absent their shepherd? Aren't sheep prone to wander and get lost? Imagine bragging about that.

In 2 Corinthians 11:22-12:10, the Apostle Paul does quite a bit of boasting. In the beatings he took. In  voyages scuttled. In failing to win friends and influence people. In making himself a target of robbers and false prophets. In going without sleep or food or clothes. In spending days in jail. In being harassed and harangued. In living day after day with some messenger of Satan which his very own Savior would not remove. What kind of boasting is this?! We are but jars of clay, Paul tells us elsewhere. To be used of our Creator, the Potter for His glory and our good, that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Humbly serving. Loving and esteeming others greater than ourselves. Being emptied of self in this world that we might be filled perfectly by His Spirit in His Kingdom. And the more we are used and broken in His gentle hands, the more His treasure pours forth.

As I was meditating on these verses, I had a vision of someone I love. She was broken, shattered into pieces and thrown onto a garbage heap. She was a worthless vessel possessed by the enemy rather than used for the glory of God. She had been rendered dry and empty, never filled with real treasure, only the meaningless baubles the world has to offer its lovers. Because she had never been filled by the Holy Spirit, when Satan, the deceiver, the father of lies cast her aside, nothing but emptiness met the world. No beauty. No fragrance. No virtue. No treasure. She had bragged in her strength, in her accomplishments, in her value, which is really no sort of strength or success or worth at all. Her intelligence was proven to be the greatest foolishness it could be. Her perfect features as warped and decaying as any flesh. There was void and desolation. I was undone.

But the fear and hopelessness I felt is the product of a lie. I am a vessel of the Holy Spirit and my Father hears my prayers, for myself and for others. I am praying I will continue to hold fast to the truth that God saves all He desires and He is good. I am praying the Holy Spirit will embolden me to pray in faith for this person and others who have not yet come to know Him. I am praying for hearts to be softened and lives to be transformed, that vessels might be filled with the Treasure that is Jesus Christ and broken for Him, His glory spilling out for all the world to see. I can do nothing to rescue this person from herself. She can do nothing that would make her worthy of God's pardon. It is grace upon grace, turning our brokenness into His glory. And that sort of brokenness is worth all the boasting there could ever be!