GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19-30 (NIV)

In the Bible, when people totally surrender themselves to God, they’re often described as ‘broken.’

God uses broken things for his purposes. When our lives are broken before the Lord, his light is able to shine through us. It’s a divine principle: God takes us; he breaks us; he blesses us, and then he uses us.

A simple way to see this principle is during the miracle when Jesus fed the 5,000. He took the bread; he broke it; he blessed it, and then he used it.

Jesus is the supreme example of this brokenness. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42, NIV).

When you experience a personal Gethsemane, you’re moved toward the depths of faithfulness, certain God is on the other side of your faith, and that makes you willing to say, “Not my will, but your will be done.”

This is a statement of oneness, you’re heart becoming one with the Father’s. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, says it this way: “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (NIV)

You learn to trust God by obeying him in small ways.
 
At this point in your Jesus-life, you probably agree God is the supreme ruler of the universe, powerful enough to overcome any problem or defeat any enemy, that “everything comes from him; everything happens through him; everything ends up in him.” (Romans 11:36, Msg)

And, if this is true, then your struggle to give it all to God is not over the issue of whether or not he’ll be able to fulfill his promises — He clearly can do that.

Perhaps the resistance you and I exhibit when we’re faced with trust is because we seriously doubt God will look out for our best interests — ‘Yes, I believe God can work this out, but will he?’

Or, ‘I know I can work this out, but I’m not sure God will, at least I’m not sure he will do it the way I want to see it done.’

God patiently understands your hesitancy – He made the first move toward establishing a loving, trusting relationship with you. He didn’t wait until you could be trusted to receive his love, and he doesn’t insist you become trustworthy before he trusts you with precious gifts (Romans 5:6-8).

God supports our small steps of faith – When we obey God, even in small ways, “we find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” (Romans 5:2 Msg)

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.