Out of the Valley: 7 Days to Processing Brokenness and Getting to HopeSample

Who you are is not where you are at.

Read that again. 

Who you are is not where you are at.

Defining where we are in our state of brokenness is important because without a diagnosis we can’t identify a cure. This can be uncomfortable work for our souls: it’s a lot easier to ignore the realities of where we are struggling, where unhealed traumas still exist, and what triggers us. A tension here is that we think that if we are honest about where we are with ourselves and the people who love us, then we must be a failure. If we go beneath the surface, truthfully, this is the way our society--and sometimes even our church community--views brokenness. Here is your permission slip to rise above the fear of being defined by where we are at in your healing journey. 

We are told in scripture that, while man sees everything that’s happening on the surface, God sees our hearts. Can we admit to ourselves that sometimes we forget that God sees our hearts because we are too busy looking at where we are at and consumed with where we think we should be?

Take a moment. Take a deep breath. You are not defined by the pain. You are not defined by the mountain you can’t seem to get over. You are not defined by what was done to you in the past or even the things that you have done yourself. You are not defined by your brokenness. You are not even defined by this present moment.

It’s God who has named you. He is the only one who gets to say who you are, and when He sees you, all He sees is His Son on the cross: perfect and holy, covered in righteousness. He has called you beloved, chosen, friend, daughter, lovely, wanted. 

Pick up those names and be real about the help you need. Identify where you are standing so that you can be led to where to go from here.