The Broken Way by Ann Voskamp
Week 7: Chapter 6 — The Miracle in the Mess
Read Chapter 6 of The Broken Way. Key passages: Romans 8:28; John 11:1–44 (Lazarus).
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In this chapter, Voskamp confronts the hardest question of the book: what do we do when things do not get better — when the brokenness is not a season but seems to be the whole story?
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Voskamp is honest that the broken way is not a formula for pain relief — it is not a promise that following Jesus will resolve your circumstances. She says the miracle is often not the removal of the mess but the transformation that happens inside it. How does that land for you? Does it feel like truth or like a cop-out?
2.She reflects on the scene at Lazarus's tomb — Jesus arriving four days late, Mary and Martha weeping, 'Lord, if you had been here...' — as the posture of every broken person who has waited for God to show up on time. When have you most felt like Mary or Martha at that tomb? What did you do with that feeling?
3.The shortest verse in Scripture — 'Jesus wept' (John 11:35) — gets significant attention from Voskamp. She argues that God weeping with us before He acts is itself a form of miracle. Why might God's tears matter as much as God's intervention? What does it mean to you that Jesus wept?
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