Brokenness

I have been listening to a new series by Pastor James MacDonald called 10 Choices to Change Your Life Forever.  All I can say is WOW!  If you are serious about change in your life, for the better, you must hear this series!  Go to walkintheword.com (or click on the link under blogs/sites I follow) and find a station that carries his broadcast.  This series truly will change your life if you are serious about making a change!  You can also order the series on DVD or CD (I did as I needed to hear the messages over again  a few times-it's THAT good!) and Pastor James also has a book out on the series.  After I view and re-view the series a few times, I will post some of the content that I think is really important on my blog.  But, you really need to hear the entire series, trust me!!  :o)

Many times I find myself needing to surrender it all to God and needing to become broken before Him.  Too often I try to do things in my own strength rather than letting Him guide and lead me and work through me.  God has really been working on my heart lately and trying to get me back on track in my relationship with Him.  I am learning that it's really all in the choices I make.  Instead of just "reacting" to things, which is my normal way, I am trying to consciously "choose" how I react.  Will I react in a godly, God-honoring way and let the Holy Spirit lead me?  Or will I react in my flesh; in an angry, selfish, prideful way and dishonor God?

I found this great devotional at walkintheword.com that Pastor James wrote on Brokenness.  I hope it blesses your heart.  :o)

Brokenness

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. ~Pastor James MacDonald

I pray this devotional has brought you some insight into brokenness and has blessed you!!

God Bless!!  :o)