Introduction
There’s a loud and boisterous culture that works hard to keep our eyes on what is negatively seen. When we think of something broken, it’s not common to immediately picture beauty. At least, not in the world we live in. There’s also another extreme on the other end of the spectrum (through religious doctrine/beliefs) that teaches us to almost despise brokenness. Where does that leave us? What should we think and believe? God’s heart is for us to see beauty within the brokenness we feel and know all too well. There is no need to fear it; Jesus is our best example of that. He was broken and bruised, for our sake. And in that act of keeping love on in the midst of such discomfort (to say the least), there became new ground for beauty to grow in the soil of purposeful defeat. God never causes harm, but in His perfect thinking—through His perfect plan and ways—He someway, somehow, uses everything. Pain, suffering, trouble, struggle, all obstacles included. He always makes it “all work together for the good of those who love Him, the ones He that calls for His purpose” (Romans 8:28 paraphrase ). Brett Lee Miller and his beautiful family have been graciously walking through different seasons of brokenness. In and through their suffering, there’s something unique about their journey. No matter how hard it’s gotten, they refuse to let go of God. And He’s never let go of them. Hear Brett’s heart in stunning, raw form. Be encouraged—see for yourself how, miraculously, God’s been up to something beautiful in the midst of his experience in learning how to healthily be broken at His feet.
I will never forget the feeling of shock as my wife and I drove out of the hospital parking garage. A moment of cold, harsh reality pushed my heart into a cavern that invoked hopelessness like I had never known before. I was afraid. My wife Jessica and I had spent the last few hours holding and saying goodbye to our daughter, Wren, who passed away in her womb. We had a stillbirth that marked us in ways we are still attempting to understand. Months before that, we had a miscarriage.
It is tragic how many people I have seen partner with the false ideology that, because we live in a painful world, we have a pain inflicting Father. I find it even more tragic now that I have descended into the depths of my own valleys and have been faced with the same crossroad. I find it tragic because I feel I have a deeper understanding of the beauty that comes through surrendering our broken hearts to a Good Dad that is more present than we could ever comprehend. There have been days where my true response to pain has been to hide. It is true, we as humans have an instinctual response to ‘hurt’ and that response usually includes running. This is understandable considering the allure of comfort. The problem is that God rarely uses comfort as a means of showing His face to a broken world. I have developed a hunger to conquer my seasons rather than survive them. When we look at the ministry of Jesus, we see that to conquer truly means to surrender everything. Every breath, every life, every opportunity, and every gift must at some point be surrendered back to the Father. As backward as it sounds, this is the purest definition of freedom. Yes, my life personally will forever be marked by this season of loss, but what will that mark say? Will my loss become forever burned into my life as ‘the circumstance that induced heart ache’ or will my loss be known as the soil in which I cultivated a garden of hope, praise, resilience, and breakthrough? Option 1 is actually completely understandable. I don’t judge others for slipping into hopelessness; I just think we are missing a wonderful opportunity if that’s where we stay. See, God is entrusting you with something massive. Our God is raising and sending conquerors that will car ry His banner of hope into the deepest, scariest, murkiest territory the world has to offer. When we realize this, it flips the script on the enemy. What the opposing force intends to lead us into stagnancy actually fuels our calling to build His Kingdom upon broken ground. When death comes knocking at my door, rather than attempting to isolate myself in despair, I want to see a land of opportunity. I want to view all of my opposition in this way.
When you truly and undeniably know your identity, you become a part of the advancement of the Kingdom of God rather than a spectator. You become a journalist rather than a reader. You become an instrument rather than a listener. Jesus says we are to do GREATER THINGS. What broken territory are you being called to revive in the world? Is it miscarriage? Is it addiction? Is it separation? Is it depression or anxiety? The amount of ground that is crying out for the goodness of God is massive and undeniable. My challenge and His commission to all of us is to press in to the true nature of God so that we may carry that burning flame into broken land. May your loss not be forever remembered as the initiator of pain but be known as the grave you planted a garden on top of. May your fear not be the force that keeps you locked up in the darkness, but may it be the catalyst for revival. Listen to Isaiah 40: 3-5—” A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.” Every time I read this passage, I am moved by the order of the process. “And the glory of the Lord will be revealed” comes after the voice in the wilderness declares His goodness. This changes everything. Your wilderness is not the end of your story. Your wilderness is merely a chapter in your calling. It is ground that our great, merciful, wonderful and lovesick Father wants His name to reach.
He has chosen you for this sacred task. Mourn, hurt and feel the weight of loss, but please do not stay defeated in brokenness forever. The world needs your testimony of revival. It needs your stories of tragedy infused with the presence and nearness of the gospel of Jesus. He has not removed His hand from you. You are a conquerer feeling the friction of a territory that He wants you to speak into. Raise the valleys, lower the mountains, make the rugged places flat and the glory of God will be revealed through your story.
Final Thoughts
Beauty is everywhere, especially in brokenness, because our God is ever-present. He sees; He cares; He knows all. He’s waiting for us to let Him in to every space so He can continue to do His best work. Just like Brett is passionate to live this out, we are called to rise up out of the dry and dead places. In our submission and surrender, we can be guaranteed—no matter how broken our own world may be—to find beauty. The best is yet to come.