New Things Can Come Out of Brokenness

Have you ever found yourself regretting the behaviors, habits, and mistakes of your past?

It’s a common trap in the human experience to sit and reflect, only to ruminate on the past—not from a place of grace and compassion, but from shame and self-loathing. Scripture shows us that this struggle is not new. In the book of Isaiah, the people of Israel knew all too well what it was like to make mistake after mistake despite God’s clear boundaries and instructions. They created idols of other “powerful nations” and gods, only to later be persecuted by those same powers they once trusted.

The book of Isaiah gives us a clear timeline of how desperately God pursues us in our brokenness—and how often we reject Him in favor of our temporary wants and desires. As you read this, you might feel a quiet sadness rise within you. You may ask yourself: Is there any hope for us as God’s children? Why do we keep messing up time after time? Can we really be saved from our own selves?

Yet God, in His humanity, knows us better than we know ourselves. He understands our tendency to disobey. He sees how sin causes us to view ourselves as broken and marred. God knew that the Israelites, once left to their own devices, would eventually recognize the errors of their ways and return to Him. Because of this, He had a plan.

Isaiah 11:1 tells us, “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.”

The sins of the Israelites caused them to be cut off from God as His chosen people. Yet even in this separation, God planned to bring forth new life from what appeared broken and discarded. A stump is the base of a tree that has been cut down, decayed, or left for dead. And yet, even an old, lifeless-looking stump can produce new growth if it remains connected to its roots.

My reminder for you today is this: no matter how far you feel you have strayed in your relationship with God, you are not beyond repair. No matter how disconnected you feel, there is still life available if you allow yourself to reconnect with Him. If God could bring Jesus the Messiah through the lineage of David—a man after God’s heart, yet deeply flawed—He can create new life in you as well.

Today’s devotion inspired by // Isaiah 11:1-10 NLT

Reflect & Journal // Which parts of my life feel hopeless or damaged? How might God be calling me to a new relationship with Him?