God Loves Broken People!

This quote came up on my FB page this morning and it went so well with the things I have been pondering lately. Things like life, love, morality, our purpose on earth.... that kind of thing.
     Some of our experiences and the way we worked through them have made others question our integrity. Being placed under that kind of scrutiny makes you question your own motives, especially when you honestly want to do what is right. It is good to stand back and take a good look at your life from time to time and these experiences made us do just that. It also made us aware how much our decisions affect those around us. It is easy to think our choices don't make a difference in the world around us, we are just one small person after all. 
   I have been wondering what is my purpose? Am I fulfilling that purpose? In our human weakness we think, "If God would have prevented xyz from happening, wouldn't I be able to do greater things? If I wouldn't have such and such a happening in my past my witness would be so much more effective."
   Sadly that is where my thoughts have been wanting to go lately. God brought me up short when he reminded me that God uses broken people to do his work. The first step is being broken before God, repenting of our sins, then rising up and following him. 
    When we accept Christ, we will continue to face trials, but the redeeming factor is that God can use the very things that break us to glorify his name and further sanctify us. 
   We have all encountered those people who went through great trials, their witness is so much sweeter because they have allowed God to use their brokenness for his purposes. 
   So can being broken can be a good thing for the christian? We all cringe from pain be it physical or emotional. Could it be that pain is a blessing in disguise? 
   For some of us being broken is God's way of moving us out of our comfort zone and into a position that we never would have considered had we been left to go on with our comfortable routine.
   For others, God may need to break us before we can fully realize the joy and peace he has in store for us.
   Still others may feel like Abraham of old, offering up their Isaac to show their love for God. Their Isaac was their most treasured possessions, one God had blessed. Maybe their Isaac was only achieved after they lay down their own hearts desires. When they aligned their will to God's, joy flooded their hearts, but now God is asking for that very thing they sacrificed so much to gain.
  The "breaking process" is so hard, one we cringe from but God uses our very brokenness to meet the needs of a broken world. God loves broken people!