Broken
What To Do When We’re Broken

It is only human to become despondent when we have failed in keeping to our moral, ethical and spiritual standards, succumbing, instead, to temptation. Our Orthodox Faith teaches that we must be compassionate towards others, loving, quick to forgive, exemplar in our Christian living, and always demonstrating to the world that we belong to Christ. Yet we also know we fail, most of the time, in living up to the standards of the Gospels, appearing no different than the pagans.

We look to the example of the saints, and wonder why we seem so far removed from their Christ-like example of living the Gospels. Over and over, we sink in the muck and mire of sin, becoming broken, downtrodden, and sick. In our brokenness we betray the Gospels, our own standards of behavior, and the expectations of others. We know the truth of the words, “There is none good but One, that is, God (Matthew 19:17),” because we fail, over and over, in our own seeming inability to live as we believe.

We know we have been called to holiness by Christ, and that He gives us the strength, courage, and even the ability, to live our lives out in holiness. Yet, try as we might, we find ourselves utterly failing to live the Gospels, failing in our witness before others, and letting down our friends and family, with behavior that is anything but an example of Gospel living. We are broken, bordering on despair.

Nevertheless, even as we struggle with our sins, we must remember that we were specifically created by God for participation in His Divinity. We have been called by Him, and have become a Royal people, specifically created to participate and share fully in the life of God. The key to this life in God is to be found in repentance. Even in our brokenness, we must not give in to despondency, for our Saviour is quick to forgive. When we have found ourselves falling short of the glory of God, we must turn toward this very God in repentance, knowing that He is quick to forgive.

When we are broken, despair is the enemy, and should be seen as an emotion that has come from the Evil One. Hope and forgiveness are the gifts that come from God. During those times when we have failed in our Christian vocation, we must embrace the hope that comes with a repentant heart, and see, in our brokenness, the reminder that we are to always keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge that we have a God Who is quick to forgive. Despair is the enemy of our salvation, because in despair, the Evil One would have us believe there is no hope, and therefore no salvation. In our brokenness we must turn our gaze towards our Co-Suffering Saviour, the One Who lifts us up, out of our brokenness, making us whole, and granting us forgiveness and life.

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

RESPONSE

When you find yourself broken, remember that Christ was broken for us. We all fall short of His glory, but He loves us all the same. What Jesus endured during his crucifixion was one of the worst possible torments imaginable. Being whipped, stabbed, adorned with a crown of thorns, suffocating, and ultimately giving up the Ghost, He endured for us.

Life will get you down. You will slip into sin, fall flat on your face, and find yourself at rock bottom. Fear not, weary traveler. For the rock upon which your life is built IS Jesus. Sometimes you must be stripped of all the worldly things in your life and be left beaten and broken. It is there in that place that you will find comfort in our Lord Jesus. Allow Him to come into your life, fill you with His warmth and love, and tend to your brokenness.

Christ WILL make you whole.

Learn from your brokenness. You have to look back at times on those situations and debrief them in your head. What action or scenario caused the break? How did you respond? How could you have handled this situation without triggering the break? Working through these problems and refocusing your eyes on the LORD will see you through. We’re all broken creatures, but our Lord God mends us.

God bless you all.

-Tobinator