Philippians 4:8 (CSB)
Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.
Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) was an Italian violinist and composer and was considered one of the greatest violin virtuosos of all time. A famous story has been told of him playing in a sold-out concert in Italy when suddenly the strings of his violin, one by one, began to break. To the amazement of the audience, he carried on while his strings continued to break until he was left with only one string. With dramatic flair, Paganini paused and announced, “And now... Paganini and one string.” The crowd broke out in enthusiastic applause, and when he finally completed his concert, they gave him a thunderous standing ovation.
Can you imagine what it must have been like to be in that concert hall that night and witness the great Nicolo Paganini playing with just one string? The master violinist with a broken instrument creating magnificent music! That is truly a demonstration of skill, determination, and creativity. But even more astonishing than this is how the Master of the Universe, Jesus Christ, can take broken instruments like ourselves and create something beyond our wildest dreams.
Now let me take you to an entirely different era and setting. Let's go to World War II and take a look at the horror of the Holocaust. It's there that we find Dr. Viktor Frankl (1905–1997), who was an Austrian psychiatrist. Dr. Frankl lost everything to the German high command, including his home, wife, family, and practice, along with all his personal possessions. He suffered through three long years in the concentration camps while losing all his immediate family to the Nazis.
Dr. Frankl wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one last thing, the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.” Even amid such suffering and horror, he realized his attitude was his choice. He was left with only one string: determination. “They will not make me hate; I chose to live in hope. They will not make me mean; I chose to live in love. They will not and cannot make me choose my attitude."
Dr. Frankl’s story is a powerful demonstration of Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” He demonstrates to us that even when everything in this world is taken from us and our lives have been destroyed, we still have the choice to align our hearts with Kingdom truth and principles.
These stories are not just about the power of human resilience or creativity; they are a demonstration of the possibility found in the redemption of Christ. God rarely chooses to use the perfect, the whole, or the unbroken; rather, He chooses to use people just like you and me—people who are broken, who have seen their lives fall apart and everything come unraveled at their feet.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to focus on the goodness of God, not because it's easy, but because through this discipline we are aligning our hearts with His purpose, His love, and His redemptive plan. Our broken strings can still produce beautiful music when they're placed in the Master's hands.
So dear reader, let us choose to live empowered by the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). When you allow the brokenness of your life to be held in the hands of Jesus, you will experience your true identity, your true purpose, and the life transforming power that changes your attitude from the inside out.
Your brokenness is never wasted in the hands of Jesus; He transforms it into something beautiful, something real, and something purposeful. And that, my friend, is a melody you can live with, a song that is never-ending, and a love that endures forever.