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God Loves A Brokenheart
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"Wedding Song"
Douglas Sands Christian Midi Collection
God Loves a Broken Heart
Ps. 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart-- these, O God, You will not despise."
Contrite in the hebrew means to crouch or to collapse, this is the picture of being utterly dependant on God's mercy.
As I began to meditate on this God spoke to me that there were four areas that we have to be broken of. We are born with this sin nature that raises up in us even at birth and we have to be broken in order to find His best. If we were born perfect that would not be necessary but only One has ever been perfect, and that is Jesus Christ.
The first area that we have to be broken in is our self confidence. I am not implying that I should look in the mirror every morning and say "you stupid, ugly thing, you no good rotten person"...I am saying our confidence in our flesh must be dealt with at the cross.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Phillippians 3 that he put NO confidence in the flesh, although if anyone could put confidence in it it would be him. He says "I was circumcised on the eighth day, the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning righteousness which is the law, blameless." But he goes on to say "what things were gain to me I have counted for loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as RUBBISH that I might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which came through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by FAITH.
Even after we are born again we cannot hope in our talents and abilities to get us somewhere with God. We cannot say we were born of this family or hey I know this famous Christian leader and hope that it justifies us. If there is any way that I think I can do what I do by my own power and strength I have not truly tapped into the power of God yet. I can put forth the determination and the effort but I cannot empower myself except by a choice to have faith in the Son of God who gives me the power to do all things through Him.
Secondly we must be broken of pride.
Turn with me to James 4:6-7 - "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble". A proud person is easy to spot. They continually talk of their acheivements. Let's go now to 2 Cor. 10: 17-18 - "The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done. When people boast about themselves it doesn't count for much. But when the Lord commends someone, that is different." 2nd Timothy 3 has a great discription of a prideful people: "You should know this, Timothy that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving. They will slander others and have no self-control. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious but they will reject the power that could make them godly."
Pride is a funny thing. We can see it in others but we are blind when it comes to our own pride problem. God may actually give us discernment about pride in other people at times so that we can pray effectively, but He doesn't tell us other people's faults so He can gossip about them! Usually if I am suddenly tempted to see pride in everyone else then duhhh maybe God is trying to speak to ME about the subject and I'm just projecting it.
The third thing that we must be broken to is "our plans". When I was a tall, skinny teen "my plan" was to be a supermodel! Then I gave my heart to Jesus and it didn't seem so appealing anymore. I could not picture Jesus smiling on that plan for my life. Then "my plan" was to be the perfect wife and live happily ever after. That didn't go so great either because my husband decided a few years into our marriage that he didn't believe as I did. Now God is restoring and we are becoming closer than we ever thought possible. God's plan for my life was totally different than anything I could have ever planned. It included some losses and suffering I certainly never would have chosen for myself. It included somethings that have brought me close to Him as nothing else ever could have. ok...So there is my plan, and God's plan. But how about God's plan, MY way? Have you ever gotten a wonderful word from the Lord and then tried to make it happen? Man...that is a course in discouragement!
Let's go to the Word again. Look at Matthew 16:24-26 - Jesus said to his disciples, "if any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process?"
Ps. 146: 9 reads that "God frustrates the plans of the wicked". You might say "well I'm not WICKED". But God's definition of wicked is someone who is following their own design and not His. The reason I can say that is because this is idolatry! It is very wicked to try to manipulate your own life into what you want it to be. That is God's job not yours. Proverbs 19:3 says : "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry with the Lord."
There is a fourth area that we must be broken in and that is "every weight of bondage". Let's go to Hebrews 12: 1- "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, (people are watching our lives) let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. You see you cannot RUN with chains on your feet. You cannot RUN with heavy packs on your back. You can try but you will wear out mighty fast! So there are weights that are bondage to us and keep us from moving ahead. For each of us it might be something different, but we need to ask God to search us often so that we can run the race without hindrences, amen?
Let's check out 2nd Cor. 7: 1-2 - "because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete purity because we fear God". Now when I read that the first time I thought how in the world can we cleanse ourselves? After all, only JESUS can cleanse me, right? How in the world can I "work toward purity" for crying out loud? But this is talking about sanctification...or setting ourselves apart from things that once again "hinder" us. So if I'm in the habit of watching tv and there is a lot of course joking on there God is telling me to set myself apart from it because it is going to slow me down. Junk in, junk out. If I'm expecting to prophesy the word of the Lord how in the world can I put junk in there ...it might come back out again! YIKES! So if a relationship or an attitude or a habit or ANYTHING becomes a bondage to me, I need to separate myself from it. We struggle with the world, the flesh and the devil...and yet, with the Holy Spirit we can overcome them all and walk in freedom.
Being broken is a painful thing. Luke 15: 11-31. The prodigal son met all of the qualifications of a broken and contrite heart. He didn't come to the Father blaming HIm for his life's problems, nor did he act like he deserved the Ritz just for coming home again. Grace is being given that which we do NOT deserve. He was given grace. Mercy is not being given that which we DO deserve (punishment for sin). He was given mercy. You see God's grace is free but it isn't cheap. It was bought with a heavy price, and no matter what we have personally "gone through" it would never be enough to pay for the sin of the world. Benny Hinn said it very well when he said "it's not what you have gone through for Him it's what HE has gone through for you". I love that!
When we have been broken we can have
1. God-confidence ...which is faith.
Isaiah 26: 3 says "You will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in you, those whose thoughts are fixed on you".
Jeremiah 17:7-8 reads "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like a tree planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit".
2. Brokenness produces humility which produces joy! Isaiah 29:19- "the humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord."
3. When I am broken of "My plan", God's plan comes forth in purity. Proverbs 3: 5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and HE will direct your paths.
4. Being willing to be broken and "set apart" produces Holiness or freedom from bondage.
In Duet. 32: 39 God says "There is no god other than me! I am the one who kills and gives life. I am the one who wounds and heals, no one delivers from my power!" That is an interesting thought...you know we can be delivered by God from the enemy but the enemy can never "deliver" you from God! If God "wounds" it is only in the interest of convicting us of sin. Our hearts should be so broken by sin that we are not just sorry we got caught in the act or that it has hurt US. We are sorry that we have hurt HIM. It is HIS heart which has been broken by our sin, His body which has been wounded for us. So should our hearts break by the revelation of sin in our lives and we stand before Him only by grace.
Prov. 27:6 - "Faithful [are] the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy [are] deceitful." Jesus is my most faithful friend. He was surely wounded for us all. And if he wounds me with conviction it is for my own benefit, to bless me abundantly, more than I could ever think to ask!!!
Finally, Ps. 147: 3- "He heals the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." God wants to heal those who are broken and contrite. If you are broken, you are ripe for your healing, God is waiting, ready and able to heal you.
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