The coffee bin in this picture is not quite right. The lid that is supposed to keep our coffee air tight doesn’t quite get the job done. Why don’t I buy a new one? Because … before Austin died, he snuck this item into the grocery cart one day.
When I asked him about it, he stated simply that I needed it for my coffee. It was true. I was scooping coffee out of the bag. The kid was right. He was often smarter than me!
Now, of course, I’ll keep that broken coffee bin forever because each day as I make coffee, I think of Austin. Even though the lid doesn’t fit quite right, it can still be used to hold my coffee and soothe my broken heart.
God tells us that He will do the same for us. Even if you are not quite right, even if you feel broken, God can still use you.
In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul reminds us:
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” ~ Ephesians 5:20
God can take the parts of you that are not quite right and make them useful. He can take your ugly mistakes and your shattered heart and do far more than you can think or imagine.
If you will let Him into your heart, into your life, God will use the power of the Holy Spirit to make your pain useful.
Even though my heart, my life, my family will never be “quite right” until we get to Heaven, I am able to live a life that is thankful and joy-filled. How? Only God. Only God could take losing a child and use it to help others.
What are you facing that makes you feel “not quite right?” Read Ephesians 5:20 again and let go of your human limitations, guilt, sorrow, skepticism, or whatever else is holding you back from imagining that God can still use you to do good in this life.
For those of you who are like my coffee bin (broken but being used by God), how does God work far more abundantly beyond all that you can ask or imagine in your life?