Ask any carpenter and he will tell you how useless a bent nail becomes while nailing two pieces of wood together.  To make matters worse he has to use a special leverage technique to remove the bent nail that is now embedded in the wood.  Once the bent nail is removed it is discarded or sent to recycle.  But, what would happen if that same discarded nail was taken and beaten back out straight?  It would not be perfectly straight and it would have creases and dings but it could very well work.  It may not look all that great but the very creases and dings created during the straightening process are the enforcements that secure the two pieces of wood even more.

What if we come to God with our brokenness where something didn’t work out?  We have no accomplishments to bring to God’s throne room, only a failed effort.  God reaches out His loving hands and asks for those broken dreams, heart aches, disappointments and failures to be placed in His outstretched hands.  At first it’s the most painful emotion ever imagined because He takes all the pain and beats out the things that do not fit His plan.  After much letting go, tears and sorrow becomes the greatest peace ever experienced.  There are many scars to show for the love God placed into each situation yet it’s those scars that are the strongest asset in holding others together in the love of Jesus.  What others meant to destroy, Jesus mends and makes useful.  There is no situation wasted when Jesus is the center of the healing and the object of usefulness.

Romans 5:1-2  New Living Translation

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.