Fixing the BrokenSample

Something’s gone wrong. Your work colleagues have competing agendas and you can’t get the project out the door. Or you’re yelling at your kids and you don’t know how to stop. 

Once upon a time, God created all things good. But in this situation, God’s perfect created order seems very far away. 

What do you do?

First, you realize that you’re not alone. 

Brokenness affects every human relationship and pursuit. Romans 8:22 says that all of creation “groans” today as it awaits God’s liberation. This groaning fills your daily work with setbacks and frustrations. Things don’t go right. You make mistakes and experience delays.

What’s more, your daily interactions with people are troubled by sin – theirs and your own. You have miscommunications. You hurt other people and they hurt you. This goes back to the first chapters of Genesis, and it continues in daily life today.

Thankfully, God provides a way out. Through prayerful reflection you can learn to identify what is broken – what runs contrary to God’s design. You can use confession to give your brokenness over to God. Through Jesus’ forgiveness, you can get a blank slate to start afresh. And you can partner with God in his work to heal your broken situation. 

It all starts by cultivating an awareness of the broken. When something goes wrong, rather than thinking of it as annoying and inevitable, think, “This is something that is different from God’s plan. I think God wants to heal this.”

Try this: Think of a difficult situation in your life. Ask yourself these questions:

• What is God’s original intention?
• What is broken? What runs counter to God’s intent? 
• What does God want this to look like?
• What specific actions can I take to help God heal this situation?

Prayer: God, help me see my life today through your eyes. When something is broken, may I see it for what it is. Make me a partner in your work of restoring the whole world to your good design. 

Further Exploration: Read more about Romans 8:18-30 in the Theology of Work Bible Commentary .