The Broken Vessel

The Broken Vessel (Fix Me, I’m Broken) 

Barbara Galloway

Well, hello friends and fellow readers. Let’s take an introspective look at a topic that might have you scratching your heads a bit. What in the world has a broken vessel that is of no more use than to be thrown out got to do with anything? Well, did you ever have a favorite plate or cup that somehow got cracked or broken? You tried to use some glue to put it back together. It was once again useful, until it wasn’t. 

“And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.”–Jeremiah 18:4.  

When a potter begins to form that lifeless, cold lump of clay into the masterpiece that he desires, he takes much time and is laser focused as it is formed in his hands. But sometimes that piece of clay takes on a form that in no way represents what the potter is trying to portray. So, he smashes that form and starts the process over again. 

That’s what God wants to do with our lives. Sometimes along the way we get beaten and battered by the storms of life. We become cracked, broken, and misshapen. He wants to put us back together so we can be used as lifelines to those who are broken in spirit, cracked or marred. But before He can fully use us, He has to fix our brokenness. See, in our brokenness, in our shattered states, we are unable to fulfill that purpose. So, we need to undergo reconstruction. 

God is the potter; we are the clay. When the potter sees imperfections in His creation, He kneads the clay and reshapes it. He doesn’t discard it. When life begins to break us, to beat us down; when we are shattered and falling apart, He carefully puts us back together again. He uses much love and compassion in the process. A broken vessel can only be useful if it is whole. When we are broken, we can stop by the potter’s house, and He’ll mend the pieces of our brokenness. God can pick up the pieces of our brokenness and revive us again. 

When man sees us in our shattered state, he is oftentimes prone to write us off as useless. However, God says, “not so! There is more work to be done with this vessel.” Trust God, and be ready to be fixed, filled, and functional. Lord, fix that which is broken in me. 

The next leg of the journey can be so rewarding, but you have to be willing to acknowledge that you are broken. Ask Him to pick up the pieces of your broken heart and make you whole again. There’s much work to be done, but you must be fit for the task. We’ll talk again later, but until then you’re wished much love, peace, and blessings.

~Barbara G.