Category: Spiritual Formation

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Broken, God’s Reply

This poem is a what I imagine might be God’s reply to the poem Broken* posted a few weeks ago.

Broken, God’s Reply

I am the Living Presence,
I am with you now and forever.

You are forgiven.
You have been made well.
I long to sojourn with you.
One day the world with be a new creation.

Your brokenness allows Me in.
I have wrapped My loving arms around you.
I have sent others to minister to you.
My love knows no limits.

You are called to be you.
You are My child.
You are My hands and feet in a broken world.
We are drawing closer as time goes on.

I am walking with you.
I am present to you.
I have made you whole.
In your surrender, you will find delight.

I am the Living Presence,
I am with you now and forever.

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Broken*

I am a broken man,
Yet I am who You create me to be.

I am broken because I have failed You.
I am broken because of my afflictions.
I am broken because You want my attention.
I am broken because I live in a broken world.

Though I am broken, I am whole!
Held together by Your loving hands.
The hands of those You have brought around me.
Your love will not fail me.

Remind me of who I am.
Remind me to whom I belong.
Remind me of why I am.
Remind me of who I am becoming.

LORD, walk beside me this day.
Yahweh, let me be present to You.
Abba Father, let me be whole in my brokenness.
Living Presence, let me be surrendered to You.

I am a broken man,
Yet I am who you created me to be.

*violently separate into pieces, damage or altered, made weak or infirm, subdued completely, cut off, not complete or full. – Merriam-Webster

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An Invitation from Jesus

““Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

Jesus asks a great question as he is addressing the crowds gathered around him, “Are you tired?” Ignatius Loyola taught a practice he termed imaginative prayer. He would encourage his followers to imagine themselves as part of the gospel narrative as they were reading it. He would tell them to pick one of the characters in the narrative and imagine what it would have been like to be them. Immerse yourself into the story above and wonder how you would respond to the three questions Jesus asked. Now, take the next step and wonder how you would respond to the invitation Jesus offered. Jesus is inviting the crowd to come to him and learn how to “find rest for your soul” (Matthew 11:29, ESV). 

Jesus is teaching us in this passage that we need practice Self-Care/Soul-Care. We can only tend to others if we have been tending to ourself. I am guessing that most of us would answer “Yes” to the questions Jesus ask but I also believe many of use would answer “No” to the invitation that Jesus offered. I am afraid that “resting” is not valued in our western culture. Are you able to disconnect from work in the evening, on weekend, or when you are on “vacation?” I find the term “working vacation” to be an oxymoron. My encouragement to you is to take a fresh look at the invitation Jesus is offering and simply say “YES.”

The Sojourner’s Garden is one resource you can turn to to explore what it looks like to say “yes” to the invitation. It is a work in progress but I do offer some spiritual practices that you can use to find rest in Jesus. I also do spiritual direction if you are interested in me coming along side as you explore the invitation. 

Alan Fadling’s book An Unhurried Life is a wonderful resource on this topic. He and his wife Gem also have a great website with addition resources: Unhurried Living