Shaped by Grace - Lose the Lies & Gain God's TruthSample

Broken Open

Lose the lie: “I feel like nothing will ever change.”

Have you ever planted seeds and waited for your first sprout? If you have, you know it takes time for the flower or vegetable seed to break through the soil before showing signs of new life.

Now, imagine the seed declaring its own value based on its size. The seed itself looks lifeless, but the sower knows the potential of the seed lies just on the inside. On the outside, the edges of the seed hull are usually smooth or perfect, its exterior unbreakable.

The real value of a seed lies in what’s hidden inside. Seeds go through an important process to germinate. They’re buried in the darkness of the dirt then drenched with water. Exposure to the elements breaks down the seed’s outer coating to release their potential. In the crushing, the hard seed hull softens to the pressure of the earth’s womb.

This is where the real growth happens, bursting through layers of dirt to bring a beginning of something new.

We are the same as germinating seeds, exposed to life’s brokenness and the pressure of sin. Embracing the dirt, which covers our sin, is a part of the growth God uses to break us open to grow. In the breaking, hard places open and become soft, pliable, and moldable as something new is released.

Allow God’s love and grace to flood and wash over the tough outer shell of your heart and break it wide open. God’s cultivating changes are deeply hidden within. Don’t resist His breaking off something you don’t need. Guard yourself against failure, depression, rejection, uncertainty, disappointment, or anxiety to break you down in this season. Let the dirt do its work. Don’t pluck up the seed because you don’t like the season. There’s nothing man can do to you which God can’t use for His good.

Gain God’s Truth: When you break open to God’s healing ways, His grace opens your heart to receive your growth differently. Think of your changes as God cultivating a unique version of you. Our Divine Farmer wants to fertilize the soil of your heart with truth, so deeper roots sink in. Let go of your resistance, let go of your brokenness, and allow God’s warming light to penetrate your soul.