User:Ellie Eleanor/sandbox

<!-- Brokenness

When a priceless perfume falls on the floor, scattered in brokenness. In disbelief we face two choices, wasted or restored. When facing personal brokenness, any hope of restoration often eludes us. It seems safer to accept the loss unaware of God’s hand in brokenness.

A story is told of a group of church leaders who had been praying earnestly for revival in their community. They were particularly burdened for the young people who had no interest in spiritual matters and scorned the things of God. For 18 months they met, three nights a week, praying through the night to the early hours of the morning, beseeching God to come and visit in revival. But there was no evidence of any change.

Then one night, a young deacon rose to his feet, opened his Bible and read from Psalm 24:3-5 “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation”. There in the straw, the men knelt and humbly confessed their sins to the Lord. With a short period of time, God begun to pour out his spirit in an extraordinary awakening that shook the entire church.

Before it’s impact can be felt in a home, a church, or a nation, revival must first be experienced on a personal level in hearts of men and women who have encountered God in a fresh way. And the greatest hindrance to our experiencing personal revival is our unwillingness to humble ourselves and confess our desperate need for his mercy.

Our generation has been programmed to pursue happiness, wholeness, affirmation, and cures of our hurt feelings and damaged psyches. But God is not as interested in these ends as we are. He is more committed to making us holy more than making us happy. And there is only one pathway to holiness-one road to genuine revival and that is the pathway of humility and brokenness. Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite”.

Brokenness is a lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of our heart and life as He sees it. It is a lifestyle of unconditional, obsolete surrender of our will to the will of God- a heart attitude that says, “yes, Lord!” to whatever God says. Brokenness means shattering of our self-will, so that the life and spirit of the Lord Jesus may be released through us. It is our response of humility and obedience to the conviction of the word and the spirit of God.

We have an example of two kings in the Bible, one king, in a fit of passion committed adultery with his neighbors wife, and then plotted to have his neighbor killed. Yet when the story of his life was told, this man was called, ” a man after God’s own heart”. On the contrary his predecessor’s sin was relatively insignificant-he was only guilty of incomplete obedience. But it cost him his kingdom, his life and his family. When King Saul was confronted with his sin, he defended and excused himself, blamed others, and tried to cover up both the sin and consequences. In brief, his response revealed a proud and unbroken heart. On the other hand, when king David was faced with sin, he was willing to acknowledge his failure, to accept personal responsibility for his wrong doing, and repent of his sin. His response was that of a humble, broken man and his heart was honored. David made prayer in Psalm 51, he poured out his soul in brokenness to God in prayer for mercy and grace.

Therefore, every great movement of God is preceded by a season of humility and repentance. It is a time of tearing down walls, or of getting honest with God and others about your spiritual condition. It may be hard, it may hurt. But in the end, God will use your brokenness to restore your first love for Jesus, rekindle your spiritual fire, reconcile your relationships, and repair your life. Like King David, let’s return to our God in humility and brokenness.

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