The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance;  to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion;  to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair.  And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify Him.  Isaiah 61:1-3  HCSB

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and picked up a can of food only to find the can damaged in some way? Somewhere between the processing, packaging, delivery and/or stocking it was damaged.  It’s obvious that it was damaged because there is this huge dent in the can.  Maybe the label is torn.  It doesn’t look like the nice undamaged cans with the good labels.  Sometimes we are like that.  The difference with people is that we can be damaged on the inside.  Our labels may be untorn and in great shape. Our cans may not have a single dent, but our contents may be severely damaged.  Maybe we grew up in a abusive or neglectful home.  Maybe we grew up in a great home, but suffered abuse in a relationship outside of our family.  The thing is, somewhere along the line we suffered some type of damage.  As adults, we suffer rejection and heartache at various times throughout our lives.  We become damaged goods.  Now you know that when you are buying canned goods, you are more likely to pass up the damaged cans unless they are on sale.  You are more likely to buy the canned goods that look good on the outside.

Sometimes we enter relationships the same way.  We bring home the one that looks good on the outside only to find that the damage is on the inside.  Sometimes we are the ones damaged on the inside.  We try our best to hide it, but it always comes through.

Our scripture passage today tells us that we have a savior that will fix us.  He will heal our brokenness.  He will free us from whatever enslaves us.  He will get vengeance on those who have wronged us. He will comfort us when we mourn.  He will give us beauty for ashes.  He will clothe us in splendor instead of despair.

Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent.  This is a 40 day period where many will fast or give up something.  Today I am asking you to give up your broken heart.  Give it to God for these 40 days. Trust Him to return to you a new, unbroken heart. Give up your sorrow and shame.  Trade your broken vessel for one made new.

All we have to do is turn to Him.  Instead of being damaged goods, we can be made new again.  Jesus came to earth fully human and fully God.  He felt heartache and pain just as we do.  He came to take on our sin.  He came to heal our broken hearts.  He’s here for you now, he waits with outstretched arms. Won’t you turn to Him today? You don’t have to run the fastest to get a trophy on God’s team.  You don’t have to be the most beautiful to receive a crown.  You just have to trust in Him.  You have to love Him with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.  When we do this, he restores us.  He gives us beauty for ashes. Sadly, being damaged is a part of life.  Being restored is a part of life with God.

I’ve told you many times that I like cars.  Brand new cars are nice, but I am most impressed with fully restored classics.  You see these cars have stood the test of time.  They may have suffered damage. They may have been broken down or taken apart.  But some mechanic/car enthusiast saw through the rusty parts to what the restoration would bring.  They took the time and money to lovingly, patiently make it shiny and new. On several occasions, I have seen my brother in law with a bucket of rust and thought, “what does he think he can do with that?”  Then he surprises me with what turns into a beautiful. shiny, fully restored classic car.  My nephew can be given a car that won’t run that someone has given up on and replace a couple of parts and have it running like new.

God sees through our brokenness. He sees what we can become in His loving hands. He will make all things new (Revelation 21:5).  When we accept Christ as our savior, we become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).  All we have to do is trust in Him.  What are you waiting for?

Have a great day?