Happy Sabbath friends! I want you to envision yourself as a plate. Now imagine someone picking you up, and smashing you onto the ground…you suddenly scatter into a million different pieces. Someone else comes by and asks the person that smashed you why they did that, and all they can say is “i’m sorry”…but despite the apology, you are still scattered across the floor in a million different pieces. This analogy might resonate with you in the matter that maybe someone who was in your life, or is currently in your life, smashed your heart into a million different pieces. Maybe you are reading this and this message resonates with you, and you are wondering if there is any hope in being put back together. I am here to confidently tell you that there is hope, and that hope is found in our Heavenly Father.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV

I truly believe God placed this message upon my heart for you all today because as of recent, I have been reflecting on how far I have come in my journey with Christ. Exactly one year ago was when God was blessing me with freedom from a situation I thought would last for the rest of my life. Exactly one year ago was when I was a shattered plate, and I believed there was no hope for me, but God had different plans. He freed me from a life that was separate from Him, and led me back to where I always belonged. I was lost, and I was found. I may have been a shattered plate, but God still saw a purpose within me. When I took the Lord’s hand, and allowed Him to guide me, and I truly stayed focused on Him, was when the miraculous happened…that once shattered plate became a new plate. That once shattered plate became an even better plate…one without any scratches on it…one that was so clean, you could see your reflection off of it. The once shattered plate, became a brand new plate, with a whole new purpose and meaning.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

When reflecting on how far I have come with Christ…I am filled with so much gratitude. What I endured for so long was not something a human-being on this earth could fix. Believe me, I tried the route of thinking someone else could fix my previous hurt, but that ultimately never works out in the long-run. It is like the shattered plate…someone else could try to put the pieces back together, but there will always be those cracks from where the shattered pieces separated before. What I endured for so long was something only our Heavenly Father could fix. When the plate shattered…it was seen by God, and was replaced by a whole new plate, with absolutely no cracks from the previous shatter to be found.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalms 34:18 NIV

I pray over all who are reading this message that they may be filled with comfort. Whether they are currently going through heartbreak, or have went through heartbreak in the past, I pray this message fills them with the comfort and peace of knowing that there is hope. You may feel like a shattered plate today, but I pray that you would open your heart to the Lord, and allow Him to clean up your shattered pieces, and replace them with a brand new plate. With God, you are able to be free from the cracks, burdens, shatters, etc. from your past and/or present. With God, you can be brand new.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36 NIV

Just as our Heavenly Father saw my brokenness, He will also see yours.

Just as our Heavenly Father repaired what the world deemed to be the unfixable, He will always know how to fix the brokenness. What may be impossible for man, is possible in Him.

Just as our Heavenly Father blessed me with freedom, you will also be free indeed.

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Ephesians 3:12 NIV

With God, you are no longer bound to being defined as broken, shattered, worthless, and whatever else the devil is attempting to put in your mind today. With God, you are defined as new, purposeful, and radiantly beautiful. Choose to follow God, and He will clean up the shattered pieces and replace them with a whole new meaning. Our Heavenly Father has great plans in store for you…you just have to choose Him, and trust Him.

Amen.