Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Selfishness (02/14/05)
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TITLE: In the Broken Places | Previous Challenge Entry
By Theresa Veach
02/20/05 -
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“He used to go to my church. He was one of the oldest and most respected men in our congregation. Everyone thought he was so great. No one would ever believe he would do something like that to me. For years, I didn’t want to believe it myself. But now I remember everything. I remember everything and those memories never leave me. The smell, the sound, the feel of his selfishness invades every aspect of my life. His selfishness has become a part of who I am. It is a part of who I am when I am awake and when I am asleep, especially when I am asleep. There is never a time when he does not haunt me. His selfishness has left me broken and for so long shame has filled all my broken places. If it weren’t for believing in Jesus, I don’t think that I ever would have made it through.”
There was another long silence. This time the silence seemed to fall softly down around us. She reached out for my hand. Maybe she was afraid I was going to leave. Maybe she just needed a bit of extra strength to help her go on with her story.
“I think I have forgiven him. But if I truly have forgiven him, why does his memory still haunt me? Just when I think I am finally healed, I am sickened all over again by what he did to me. I don’t think I will ever be who I used to be. I am too broken.”
This time the silence filled the room until it took on a life, a presence of its own. That silence wrapped its arms around us until we knew were safe, until we knew we were loved, until we knew Jesus was with us. His Holy Spirit spoke to us through the power, comfort and wisdom of that living silence.
“No, you will never be the same again. You will be better than you were before and stronger than you ever thought possible.”
We sat in the silence opening our hearts to this incredible possibility.
His Holy Spirit moved again, “I love you. I love you with the power of a just and righteous God who lives inside you, especially inside the broken places. In the natural world when something is broken or even shattered like a fine piece of china, those broken places will always remain the weakest even after you have tried to put them back together again yourself. But in the spirit, when God puts back together all the shattered pieces of our lives, these are the places that are now the strongest; they are the strongest because the very glue that holds all our broken places together is none other than our Father God's Holy Spirit.
“No matter how great the selfishness of man and no matter how broken any child of God becomes by selfishness, our Heavenly Father is ready and waiting to fill those broken places and replace sin and shame with His Holy Spirit. Then you will have been made stronger than you ever could have become on your own.
“Our Father’s selfless love has the power to use every form of selfishness for His glory. Just look at what happened when all of humanity’s selfishness nailed His son to a cross…”
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