There’s a song by Matthew West called “Broken Things.” I find myself absentmindedly humming it throughout the day. It gets stuck in my head on repeat, but I don’t seem to mind. On occasion when I do sing the words rather than hum the tune, I’m almost dumbstruck by the simplicity of them…
“Oh but I heard a whisper As Heaven bent down Said, “Child, don’t you know that the first will be last and the last get a crown”
Now I’m just a beggar in the presence of a King I wish I could bring so much more But if it’s true You use broken things
Then here I am Lord, I’m all Yours.”
The second to last line, ”but if it’s true You use broken things…” gets me every time. I can hardly sing those words without tearing up. Why on earth would He use broken things? And me, the most broken of them all.
Sometimes, I’m taken back by how little I’ve accomplished in my 41 years of life. Most people by this age would have the “American Dream.” A home, a family, successful careers, some type of fulfillment that they can look back on and show the world they’ve “made it.” At 41, I struggle to think of all the things I have to show the world.
Yet, He uses broken things…
I often think of Joseph. How he was discarded and abandoned by his own family, left in a hole to fend for himself. Yet, God used those opportunities to make Joseph flourish. He took a broken thing, Joseph and made him into something. I think of Samson, a mighty man of God with feats of strength unknown to mankind! He rose so high, and fell so low. Yet, He uses broken things…and with his last breath did more for God and his people, than he did in his entire life.
Obviously, I’m not expecting to hit my prime the moment I leave this earth, but I know He uses broken things. And while I may not have hit my stride just yet, I know it’s around the corner. I feel like God uses the ones who the world has discarded, mocked and ridiculed…not because He feels sorry for the broken things, but because His mercy and love know no bounds. It shows the world that inside each broken thing, there’s a gem waiting to come out.
“All the misfit heroes You chose Tell me there’s hope for sinners like me.”
-Diana Hagy
