Broken hearts, broken relationships, broken down cars… this world is full of brokenness. We throw away broken toys and computers. My iPod is currently giving me a sad face icon and telling me there’s a fatal hardware issue. I keep hoping one day it will simply fix itself and work again, but every time I try to turn it on, it’s still broken. Left in its current state, I’m confident that it will remain broken forever. I’m confident of this because my iPod is helpless to fix itself.
You and I are the same way. We are helpless to fix our brokenness. And often in our Christian life, God works in many ways that break us. He uses persecution, financial hardship, sickness, loneliness and many other trials to break us of our self-sufficiency, pride, arrogance, unbelief and selfishness. He brings trials into our lives to break us of our self-dependence and to conform us to the likeness of Jesus.
Thankfully, God does not leave us broken. He breaks us of these things to restore us and create us as a vessel He can use for His glory. He disciplines us as a loving Father, who longs to see us grow and change. And He promises that this process of discipline and breaking is for the end result of producing fruit.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. (Hebrews 12:11-13)
God gives promises to the broken:
- He promises not to reject their prayer. “The sacrifices of god are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, o God, you not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
- He promises to save them. “The LORD is near to the broken hearted; and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18)
- He promises joy and gladness as we repent of our sins and look to Him as our hope. “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.” (Psalm 51:8)
Prayer: Father, thank you for your love. At times that love can seem harsh and unpleasant to me. But thank you for the promise that when you break me, it is always done from a heart of love and compassion. Thank you for the promise that you are working in me to conform me to your image. Keep me trusting confidently in your care and love, no matter what trial I may face.
[copyrighted, 2009, Emily Schankweiler]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been spending time studying “hope.” One of my greatest discoveries was that the word “hope” in greek and hebrew means “trust.” When you have hope that means that you trust God. If you replaced this in your title it would read “If God Left Us Broken, There Would Be No Trust” I think that this reads so much more powerful. If God did not meet us in our need how could we trust Him?
Some may say that He has never literally helped them. I would have to ask if you were obedient to what Jesus taught, the Bible says and how the Holy Spirit led you?
In the parable of the sower, the seed is the word. The seed that feel on the path the Bible says that a bird took the word, the seed that feel on the rocky place had on root and theseed the feel among the thorns was choked out by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. I agrue the these three groups lacked either faith, hope or love. When it talks about hope it says that the seed had no root in itself. I think that there is an owness (spelling?) on Christians to develop their root. And I think that we do this by building on the foundation of Jesus, who humbled himself and served. We too should be serving one another. If we do this, God is attentive to our asking. Read John 15: 1 – 17. There is a command placed on Christians to love God and Love our neighbor. Too often we love church. Church too often is lost in church growth and has forgotten the widows, orhans and homeless. Let’s get back to true Christianity.
The frustrations you mentioned in your blog are not from God. When we bless others, helping people who cannot help us back, doing more for them than they asked, (and not what we think they need) God shows up. Read Isaiah 58. IT says that if you feed the hungry, cloth the naked, shelter the homeless, help your flesh and blood, “then” he will make your light shine, heal you, protect you, restore you, answer your prayer. By helping others, we enter His rest. We judge them worhty to be helped, and He judges us worthy to be helped. Jesus said that if you give one of His disciples something as small as a cup of cold water in the name of being a disciple you will not fail to receive your reward in this life and in the life to come. God id faithful. Are we? When you try these things and God answers your prayer you then can trust Him and your root grows stronger.
Hi Wally,
thanks for your comments and your thoughts. Its so true that having hope in God is equal to trusting God. I’m grateful for how He has always met me in my need, and over the years, I have seen my hope and trust in Him grow as a result of seeing His faithfulness.
It is also true that that trust should result in actions, such as caring for the needy. Great thoughts! thanks!
Emily