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

by Kyle Idleman

My prayer is, God, take my broken pieces and remold them into what seems best to you.

Jesus turns another one inside out and upside down. In the midst of loss and deep disappointment, when it feels like we are coming to the end of ourselves, he turns the page and shows us a new story of hope and redemption.

Without suffering, we simply can’t know his comfort. In mourning, we experience the blessing of God’s presence.

Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrases Matthew 5:4 this way: “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” At the end of yourself, you have an opportunity to experience the presence of God in a way you never have before.

Your “disqualifier” becomes God’s qualifier.