My best friend and I borrowed the car from her sister for a few hours, heading off on a teenage, summertime adventure.
We were only a few miles away from returning the car when something unexpected happened.
The car suddenly started to shake.
We cautiously looked over at one another, each wondering if the other noticed the increasing vibrations that seemed to arise out of nowhere.
We continued to drive for a few minutes, peering out of the windshield to check if the road we were traveling on was bumpy and causing the car to shake. But we saw nothing. And with each passing moment, the uncontrollable shake grew stronger.
My friend slowly pulled into an empty parking lot and we both hopped out of the car, standing there, staring at it.
Nothing was visibly wrong. We decided we were close enough to our destination to keep driving in the shaky car. But I silently prayed as we attempted to make it home through the now‑violent shaking.
After we made it safely home, the car was later checked out by a mechanic, and we were told that the tie rod was broken. This meant we had no real control over the car we were driving. The front wheels were acting independently of one another, and the steering wheel couldn’t properly guide them in the direction we wanted them to go.
Thankfully, we were kept safe, and the car was able to be repaired.
That day, we both learned that there will be times when things are broken and damaged in our lives, problems that seem to arise out of nowhere, pain that we can’t begin to understand and shattered pieces we’re simply unable to hold together — and through it all, God will still deliver us to our destination.
Even though life’s trials can be unpleasant and unnerving, this Scripture verse helps to put things into perspective: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).
We learn a few things from this verse. First, our suffering will only last for a little while. It may not feel that way from our perspective, but from God’s eternal perspective, our troubles here on earth are an instant in light of heaven, our final destination. The Apostle Peter contrasts our present suffering with “eternal glory” — our future glory in heaven.
Secondly, we are promised that God will do four things in us: restore, confirm, strengthen and establish. Here are what these words mean in the Greek:
- Restore: to complete thoroughly; to repair or adjust.
- Confirm, or secure: to set fast; to turn resolutely in a certain direction.
- Strengthen: to make strong so as to be mobile; to move something that achieves something in the most effective way.
- Establish: to lay the foundation of.
My friend, the brokenness in your life is not beyond repair. God sees your suffering, and He Himself will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. He is doing all these things even in your suffering.
Before attempting to steer what’s broken in the direction you want it to go, welcome God into your situation. Trust that, with Him, you can travel through life’s detours, diseases, delays and disappointments because He is on the journey with you, actively guiding you towards His plans for you. So take heart, my friend … your brokenness has an end.
Dear God, thank You for navigating this journey with me. I anticipate the restoration You’ve already planned out for me, and I will trust You with everything I go through. You are the God of all grace, my peace and my protector. Into Your hands I place my broken pieces, and I await the beauty You will create. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
