How many times have I read the verses about the broken or broken hearted and thought I understood...
It only takes 1 event, unleashed in an instant, to reveal how limited and arrogant that perspective may be....... an instant to realize how not in control we truly are.
In an instant, when you walk into a store you are raw and fully aware of the brokenness around you -- you wonder as you walk through "can anyone see into my heart"... And who else around me feels like i do. It's almost too much to be anywhere outside the comfort of your home. When your eyes connect with someone you know, or something in your line of sight triggers a memory, you are instantly overwhelmed and that heat pours out into your tightening chest and you can't stop the tears from emptying onto your face.
You feel naked, like the world can see straight through your outer facade into your heart. vulnerable.......You are suddenly aware of the world around you, of the brokenness around you at a whole new level. You just feel it. It's as though something huge and raw and unnerving and seeing has been released in you. Its as though a veil concealing peoples hearts has been lifted and you can see right trough.........You want to run and hide but you also want to reach out and bring healing...it's a torrent of emotions welling up and overwhelming you. You want to reach out and withdraw at the same time.
The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and that is truth. Hardships do come upon us. Events will happen that break our hearts, our arrogance, our control, and drive us to Him.
Now, DO NOT misunderstand me, here. God does not cause these things to happen. These things never come from God. We live in a fallen, broken world where evil abounds and bad things happen. Injustice abounds, but we have the One Who is greater than all that. And He carries us through, holds us close, and, if we allow Him, restores us and brings forth beauty from those ashes.
Lord, that I may never again be hardened to the brokenness or need of another. May I never again assume or judge anything or anyone when I have not walked so much as a step in another's shoes. How arrogant and presumptuous and religious we can be!!! May my heart remain broken and full of compassion for those You created and love!
We, who consider ourselves strong, judge the weak. We, who consider ourselves wise, judge the decisions of others, assert that we know what they should have done or how they could have done better? But god loves the weak and strong alike. He considers all of us significant. We have such a limited perspective into the lives of others yet we still presume. We still criticize. We still judge. And the worst part, we allow these arrogant, prideful actions and feelings to harden our own hearts, numb our compassion, and nullify our ability to truly reach out in love. Love becomes duty, a checklist. It becomes haughtiness, puffed up, and a way to impress others....a way to assert our own significance. do you remember what happens to pride? It falls. Its humbled. Sometimes it's broken.
Brokenness lends an entirely new perspective. Right now I'd rather not know it but I know that over time I will be thankful for it and that it is a necessary and needed component for where He is leading me.
Brokenness colors and changes and deepens how you see the world around you and everyone in it. It causes you to pause, to look deeper. It humbles you and reveals your desperate need for Him.
Brokenness reveals your humanness. I think we can become so full of knowledge and believe we have answers and solutions for everything.....that we can solve every problem......and then suddenly, you realize how very small you are, how limited your perspective. Not insignificant, just small. I think sometimes we believe we are following God, so sure we are right, so sure we know...and then we suddenly discover we were actually running ahead, working on our own power, not standing in faith but actually standing in fear and control masquerading themselves as faith and strength. Our need for control, our need and desire for significance and praise and recognition, our being compelled to impress others or to continually prove ourselves are all signs of these underlying motives -- fear and control -- and that we are operating in our own strength, not His.
When you are broken you can see so much clearer who you are, Who He is, and how much you need Him. It brings you to that brink, to that place where you can truly surrender, where sometimes all you can do it soak in His presence because you aren't able to do anything else...
Verses to reference:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:10, 16 NIV)
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:4, 12, 25 NIV)
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless-that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8, 9 MSG)
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9, 17 NIV)
But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:13 NIV)
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:1, 2, 10 NIV)
"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. (Matthew 7:1-5 MSG)
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10 NIV)
It only takes 1 event, unleashed in an instant, to reveal how limited and arrogant that perspective may be....... an instant to realize how not in control we truly are.
In an instant, when you walk into a store you are raw and fully aware of the brokenness around you -- you wonder as you walk through "can anyone see into my heart"... And who else around me feels like i do. It's almost too much to be anywhere outside the comfort of your home. When your eyes connect with someone you know, or something in your line of sight triggers a memory, you are instantly overwhelmed and that heat pours out into your tightening chest and you can't stop the tears from emptying onto your face.
You feel naked, like the world can see straight through your outer facade into your heart. vulnerable.......You are suddenly aware of the world around you, of the brokenness around you at a whole new level. You just feel it. It's as though something huge and raw and unnerving and seeing has been released in you. Its as though a veil concealing peoples hearts has been lifted and you can see right trough.........You want to run and hide but you also want to reach out and bring healing...it's a torrent of emotions welling up and overwhelming you. You want to reach out and withdraw at the same time.
The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and that is truth. Hardships do come upon us. Events will happen that break our hearts, our arrogance, our control, and drive us to Him.
Now, DO NOT misunderstand me, here. God does not cause these things to happen. These things never come from God. We live in a fallen, broken world where evil abounds and bad things happen. Injustice abounds, but we have the One Who is greater than all that. And He carries us through, holds us close, and, if we allow Him, restores us and brings forth beauty from those ashes.
Lord, that I may never again be hardened to the brokenness or need of another. May I never again assume or judge anything or anyone when I have not walked so much as a step in another's shoes. How arrogant and presumptuous and religious we can be!!! May my heart remain broken and full of compassion for those You created and love!
We, who consider ourselves strong, judge the weak. We, who consider ourselves wise, judge the decisions of others, assert that we know what they should have done or how they could have done better? But god loves the weak and strong alike. He considers all of us significant. We have such a limited perspective into the lives of others yet we still presume. We still criticize. We still judge. And the worst part, we allow these arrogant, prideful actions and feelings to harden our own hearts, numb our compassion, and nullify our ability to truly reach out in love. Love becomes duty, a checklist. It becomes haughtiness, puffed up, and a way to impress others....a way to assert our own significance. do you remember what happens to pride? It falls. Its humbled. Sometimes it's broken.
Brokenness lends an entirely new perspective. Right now I'd rather not know it but I know that over time I will be thankful for it and that it is a necessary and needed component for where He is leading me.
Brokenness colors and changes and deepens how you see the world around you and everyone in it. It causes you to pause, to look deeper. It humbles you and reveals your desperate need for Him.
Brokenness reveals your humanness. I think we can become so full of knowledge and believe we have answers and solutions for everything.....that we can solve every problem......and then suddenly, you realize how very small you are, how limited your perspective. Not insignificant, just small. I think sometimes we believe we are following God, so sure we are right, so sure we know...and then we suddenly discover we were actually running ahead, working on our own power, not standing in faith but actually standing in fear and control masquerading themselves as faith and strength. Our need for control, our need and desire for significance and praise and recognition, our being compelled to impress others or to continually prove ourselves are all signs of these underlying motives -- fear and control -- and that we are operating in our own strength, not His.
When you are broken you can see so much clearer who you are, Who He is, and how much you need Him. It brings you to that brink, to that place where you can truly surrender, where sometimes all you can do it soak in His presence because you aren't able to do anything else...
Verses to reference:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:10, 16 NIV)
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:4, 12, 25 NIV)
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless-that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8, 9 MSG)
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9, 17 NIV)
But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:13 NIV)
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:1, 2, 10 NIV)
"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. (Matthew 7:1-5 MSG)
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10 NIV)