Beautiful Things

In just these past few weeks I have been reminded that we are broken people. Whether you're big, small, loud, shy, stubborn, or gullible, we each have our own suffering. It could be anything from not knowing where your next meal is coming from to recovering from a broken heart--we need healing.

While listening to Gungor's song "Beautiful Things" this afternoon, I realized how much bigger this song is when it relates not just to myself, but to every single person.

Beautiful Things by Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

Wow. It tugs on my heart even now. Before, I saw this song as my personal story. My life was a wreck but through the Lord it was made beautiful and new. Today when I look at these lyrics... I see hope for all of God's children. I see a torn nation, an abused child, a forgotten teenager, a divorced marriage, a love not returned, uncertainty, death, addictions, etc. And then- bam. "You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of dust, You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of us." Healing. Rest. Joy. Peace. Love. Life. "Could a garden come up from this ground at all?" No matter how hopeless we are, Christ remains constant and faithful to us. Beautiful is the desert we go through when Christ comes in to rescue us."Hope is springing up from this old ground, Out of chaos life is being found in You" This rescue is more beauty, love, joy and fullfillment than my heart can fully grasp. How wonderful is our precious savior? I look back to my darkest days and I am grateful. Without the darkness I would have never known how magnificent the light is. Without that pain I would have never experienced the powerful healing and love of my Jesus.

I would walk through a thousand deserts to love my rescuer-my savior and to finally understand and witness how He loves me. He continues to amaze me in his grace and healing. To experience Christ taking baggage off my back and putting it on His... We are His. We are His loved ones. You are His loved one. To experience life after Christ has revived it... That is beauty. No matter what pain we are in now, what uncertainty lies ahead, what experience we left buried deep in our past... God wants to take that. He wants to heal our wounds. He urgently waits for us to call to him. To let Him have it. To finally just let go. He patiently waits while we doubt his healing, he gently reaches out his loving hands to take the burden off of our shoulders. Christ can make anything beautiful. He can move mountains and part the seas... He can take your life and make it new. In Christ, I have been set free, I have found joy and love, I have healing, I am beautiful. He wants to do that for you. He knows how you are struggling and He eagerly waits for the day you will lay your burdens down at his feet. You are not just another person in this world. No, the God of the universe has unconditional, passionate, intimate love for you. Know this, friends, it is time for healing. It is time to let God love and adore you enough to take every beating, every lie, every betrayal, and every loss off of your burdened heart.

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you" Psalm 55:22