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Brokenness
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Have you ever been broken? Brokenness is empty-handedness before
God. It has no demands; it make no requests. It is falling into
the embrace of your loving Father and finding Him to be enough.
It is not just saying, “God, I need You,” but “God, You are all I
need.”
Brokenness is saying “no” to the clamoring voice of your flesh.
It is saying “no” to the pride and self-confidence that has made
you restless and unhappy for so long. It is saying “yes” to the
longing for God that He has planted deep within the soul of each
person.
Before a horse can be useful to its owner, it has to be broken.
An unbroken stallion is proud and strong. It will paw and snort
and let no one ride it. But then a bit goes in its mouth, a saddle
goes on its back, and someone climbs up and hangs on. The stallion
immediately starts to buck, because it doesn’t want to be broken.
But eventually it stops fighting and surrenders to the will of
its master.
Sometimes we have that same stubborn, rebellious, I-can-do-it spirit
within us. God has to break those attitudes because they keep us
from experiencing true intimacy with Him. You say, “What exactly
is going to be broken?” Here are some of the big ones:
1. Stubbornness. “I am going to do this my way.” If you are one
of God’s children, that attitude is on its way out. You can fight
with Him for a long time if you want, but your stubbornness will
eventually be broken.
2. Pride. “I know better; I am better.” God hates pride in the
hearts of His children. He hates it in my heart; He hates it in
yours. People who have been greatly used by God have come to grips
with the need to dispense with all pride.
3. Willfulness. “You can’t make me. You can’t tell me. When I
am good and ready, I will.” That’s willfulness, and it is also on
its way out. If you are one of God’s children, He is going to use
whatever He has to use to get that out of your heart and life.
4. Independence. “I can make it without You.” Nothing will inhibit
your intimacy with the Father like an attitude of self-sufficiency.
Those who have been used greatly by God have recognized their weakness
and relied on His strength.
All of these attitudes keep us from experiencing true intimacy with
God. That is why He will do whatever it takes to break us. You
say, “Well how does God break us?” Here are some of His most common
tools:
* Broken health
* Broken careers
* Broken dreams
* Broken relationships
* Broken promises
* Broken hearts
God uses these tools to rid our lives of the things that hinder our
intimacy with Him. Some people are like, “I thought God was supposed
to be loving? If I was God, I would never let my children go through
hard times like that.” Well, you’re not God! God’s love is not
a pampering love; it’s a perfecting love. God is trying to produce
something in us—the likeness of His Son—and He is going to do whatever
it takes to make that happen. You say, “I want to get off the program.
” No you don’t, because any other program will lead you to a place
you don’t want to be.
Perhaps life is going very well right now, and you can say, “I’m
not going through this breaking thing.” That’s not very comforting,
actually. Hebrews 12:6 says, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you’re not going through
any hard times, then God is not working on you. And if God is not
working on you, perhaps you are not one of His children. Maybe you
need to examine yourself and see whether you are in the faith.
Have you ever been broken? You will never experience true intimacy
with God until you are able to come before Him in genuine humility,
utterly desperate for Him. You need to be broken.
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