Rest in the Brokenness

Even before you read these words today, you’ve probably already experienced the weight of a broken world. The report of children killed in that far away land. The words of anger spoken in a careless moment. The diagnosis that, once issued, cannot be revoked. The presence of evil in the world is enough to crush your soul, but humility restores it.

Sometimes, in the face of evil, you may want to rage and fight back, to find some way to make the world better. Sometimes all you can do is withdraw to a place of safety and nurse your wounded heart. But humility teaches us that we do not face evil alone. Humility reminds us that we are not responsible to save the world but to trust the One who already has. Humility teaches us to rely on the goodness and power of God in the midst of the brokenness.

Like the wild blackberry, with its prickly canes and lush fruit, this earthly life is full of both pain and joy. You must not deny the pain of the world, but you also must not lose sight of God’s grace in the midst of it. The humble person continues to forage for this grace; the humble person continues to hope. Even in the brokenness, there is life. Even the brokenness, there is goodness. Even in the brokenness, there is rest for your soul.

Hannah Anderson lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She is the author of Made for More and Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul (Moody). You can find more of her writing at sometimesalight.com, hear her on the weekly podcast Persuasion, or follow her on Twitter @sometimesalight.