Sweetly Broken

Develop an awareness of your own inadequacy.

Doesn't quite sound like something a self-help book would tell you, right? Typically one is advised to embrace their strengths, hone their talents, exercise their skills, work those muscles and get big and strong. Be yourself, love yourself, do everything yourself because you are capable and strong.

They don't tell you to embrace your weakness, to discover your inadequacy.

The Bible is the best "self help" book you could ever read, though, because it actually helps you. It does this by focusing you away from your self. You help yourself by seeking God, seeing God, experiencing God.

In the long run it isn't a self-help book at all, it's a God-help(s) book.

And so we must be aware of our weakness, embrace our inadequacy.

Not in a "I-suck-and-therefore-must-change-myelf-to-be-better" kind of way. Personally, I'm far too good at that.

Honestly, though. I am very aware of my inadequacy. This can almost sound humble, but the key word there is almost. It's so prideful, because I'm so focused on myself. Too often I live life like a self-help book, because I am trying to help myself instead of allowing God to do it for me.

I look at myself and I see so much room for improvement. I could always be better. I could always be stronger, more loving, gracious, humble, others-centered, giving, caring, selfless...the list could literally fill books in all the ways I could improve. I'm down on myself mentally, physically, spiritually. I beat myself up for the way I think, look, live.

But that's all focused on me. It's an awareness of my inadequacy that simply leads to more focus on myself. It's a path that starts with me and circles around the track back to me.

If what you are thinking, doing, saying, watching, believing, doesn't lead you to the cross, to Jesus, then it's not the right thing, and it's not the right track to run your race on.

We don't run the race of life on a high-school track. That circle (oval...whatever) simply leads back to ourselves.

We run up along paths, through valleys, wade through streams, struggle up mountains, leap around boulders. But it must be a forward path that leads to Jesus, not a flat track that brings us back to ourselves.

And that is why we must be deeply aware of our inadequacy. Not so we can look to ourselves to improve. No, we must be humbly aware. We must see ourselves as so deeply broken and inadequate and unworthy in a way that brings us straight to the foot of the cross where we lay our burdens down and cry, whisper, scream, "Jesus. I can't do it on my own."

We must be aware of our inadequacy, we must embrace our weakness, because then we can see our need for Jesus, and only then can we be strong.

In the words of my favorite song:

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered