The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins

by Kyle Idleman

Reaching the end of me is a daily journey I must make because it’s where Jesus shows up and my real life in him begins.

I’ve come to realize that if me gets his way, I’ll miss out on the real life I’m meant to live. The life in which I love others and make a difference in the world.

you when you come to the end of yourself and realize you have nothing to offer. It’s precisely the opposite of every assumption we tend to make in this world.

Jesus says the kingdom begins with taking inventory and coming up with zero. We have nothing to offer, and that means we’re making progress.

Here’s one to think about: the less you see your own brokenness, the more broken you are. Another one for the upside-down and inside-out file.

Brokenness is not trending on Twitter. It’s not written on anyone’s résumé, and it’s no business strategy at all. It is, however, the one hope Jesus holds out for us, the inside-out, upside-down way that is somehow the only path that ultimately is right side up. Embrace the paradox: brokenness is the way to wholeness.

The good news is that God makes the broken whole. He takes the overlooked, the undervalued, the left out, the written off, the damaged and destroyed, and then he does what only he can do. God loves to make the broken beautiful.

This is the redeeming power of God through Jesus Christ. When we finally come to the end of ourselves and give God the broken pieces, he can make us whole.

Here’s what we find in our suffering. There is a deep void that used to be filled with whatever we lost. That could be stuff or even relationships—none of which are bad things. But when it’s gone, it leaves an aching cavity, and God is there to fill it up with himself.

At the end of yourself, you have an opportunity to experience the presence of God in a way you never have before. Maybe you’ve embraced some wonderful things and lost them. But there’s no embrace like the divine one.

When disaster comes, we can’t see anything bigger than what we’ve lost. But the truth is, God more than fills that space. We begin to see that he’s not just filling that space, but spaces we didn’t even know we had.

Sooner or later we stop running, usually because we’ve run out of places to run to. We finally let the tears come, and that’s when we find the missing strength. The twist is that it’s not our strength at all. It’s the power of God’s arms wrapped around us. And at the end of me, I find the richest of blessings.

You might be thinking, Nobody offers me advice, because they can’t find anything to criticize. I can assure you the truth is closer to this: nobody offers you advice because they know it’s not going to end well if they do.

If you think you’re all-deserving, why should you feel thankful for anything? You’ve got it coming to you. If you tend to feel entitled, if you’re never quite content with the way credit is doled out, if you’re overly concerned that everybody knows your accomplishments—you just might be a Pharisee.

What are your prayers like? If they are filled with complaining and self-justification, then you just might have a pride issue, and this parable is for you.

We struggle with authenticity because we fear rejection. We want the world to see us at our very best, because then people are more likely to accept and possibly even admire us.

Getting to the end of me means I’m not worried about performing for others anymore. Getting to the end of me means I’m no longer interested in faking it, because I understand that God is looking for the real me.