¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ²“Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  Jeremiah 18:1-4

Take a minute and reflect  back on what may have been one of your darkest moments.  When and where did you experience your brokenness?  It may have been the loss of a loved one, the end of a tumultuous relationship, the loss of a job, or a financial hardship.  Could it have been a health issue, drug addiction, depression or eviction from your home?

You may have felt like giving up and running away from your situation.  Maybe you were tempted to drown your troubles by drinking  some wine or some other alcoholic beverage.   Or did the temptation of doing drugs try to lure you back in for a temporary fix? Perhaps  you were tempted to call someone who could only bring more misery and destruction into your life. Did you get so broken that you even considered taking your own life?

Now take a look at yourself today!  Do you see how God sustained you and covered you so that you could be restored? Although you might have felt alone and empty, He did not ever leave you and He surely did not forsake you.  Even in your brokenness, it was God who kept you from taking a drink from the bottle.  Even in your brokenness, it was God who did not allow you to succumb to a temporary high from drugs.  It was God who kept you away from the person or persons who would be of no good for the plans God had in store for you.  Your life was and still is in His hands!

There have been a “few” times in my life, where I was ready to give up.  I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel and I would become more discouraged day by day.  It got to the point, I did not even know what to pray for.  I would just say “God, I am still here”, but I would feel so tired and worn down.  I would try to smile on the outside while all the time I was a mess  on the inside.  Then God started to show me how He was moving in my life.  He moved me from one location to another.  He put new people in my life; people who did not mind telling me they were praying for me even if they did not know me! Then there were some people who had to be moved out of my life; the ones that thought they knew me.  The ones who would speak negative things over my life and try to steal my confidence and rob me of my joy.  Well, God took care of that, too! Sometimes just as quickly as He will move someone into your life, He will allow relationships to come to an end. Even in the brokenness that we experience, God has a way of restoring us and elevating us to a new place in Him.

Imagine the joy and freedom I felt, when I  started to realize that God was working things out for me.  He was restoring me even in the midst of my brokenness.  My restoration did not come suddenly; it was a process.  A process similar to the clay on the potter’s wheel before the pot is finished! During this process, I learned how my brokenness was making me stronger.  Today, I can proudly say, I was broken to be restored.  I give God all the glory and praise for what He has done in my life and for what He is getting ready to do.  You see, even in my brokenness, He was already making me into a better person for Him! I am restored!  Thank you, Jesus!

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Dear Lord, I pray for those who may be experiencing a brokenness.  I pray they will call on the wonderful name of Jesus.  Set them free, dear Lord, from the situation that has broken their hearts and broken their spirits.  Set them free from the addictions, from the depression and from the bad relationships.  God create in them a clean heart and restore them to be who you have purposed them to be.  God, I ask that You show them how mighty and wonderful you are.  God, I pray for healing in the mind, body and soul.  Where there is lack, I ask that you supply their every need.   God, I thank you for the restoration even in the midst of their brokenness! Amen.