Have you ever felt like there was a hole in your heart? That the weight of your emotional distress made it impossible to stand up, let alone move? That it felt like you were a million miles from God?
I have, and it’s horrible. When I was chasing money and success, the stress became debilitating and caused much pain in my life. But setting aside all of that anguish, I can say without equivocation that if you have visited this frightening place of empty and hollow existence, CONGRATULATIONS.
That’s right, congratulations. My real-life, tangible experience is proof that you have gained entry into an exclusive club of Christians with a membership that is bursting at the seams. In fact, to one degree or another, all believers eventually find their way to this spot on their life’s road.
Of course it’s messy and excruciatingly painful to feel this way, but God can and will use it for good. Just ask the tribe of courageous souls who have stared down their monster and started living again with a new heart. Living again with hope. Living again with purpose and significance.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but this is precisely when we need to hand God our broken heart and empty state of mind because he specializes in this kind of trauma. He is a broken heart surgeon.
The good news in all of the confusion and distress?
Surrendering in this way demolishes the insecurities, flaws, and imperfections that delude us into thinking we aren’t good enough for God’s love and full measure of grace.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
