I am broken

I was recently having a conversation with a friend.  We were talking about various topics and somehow we started talking about being broken.  It got me thinking about my own life and the journey I have been on for the last decade.  I have had some minor successes but it was through the tragedies or setbacks in my life that I was truly transformed.

Over that time frame I have experienced broken relationships, a miscarriage, illness, the death of a spouse, and the death of my mother.  The culmination of these events cut me open and left me on my knees crying out to God.  I was weak, broken, damaged,  and hemorrhaging.  It brought me to the edge of a darkness that I had not experienced before.  It was through those trials that I realized I was weak, broken, damaged, and hemorrhaging.

Brokenness was not a hindrance, it was a blessing.  It was through that brokenness that I found Jesus.  I believe that being broken is an essential part of true spiritual growth.  It forces you to let go and put 100% of your trust in God.  This is very important on an individual basis but I believe it is important for our churches.  I don't think our churches have to experience a corporate trauma in order to be broken.  Brokenness comes from the realization that our efforts are not enough.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

"Unless we come to the end of ourselves and learn to allow Him to work through us, we will never reach our full potential in Christ." (Stanley, 2014)  This doesn't only apply to us individually.  It applies to us corporately as well.  We can't continue to operate business as usual.  We need our pastors to be broken.  We need our church boards to be broken.  We need our Sunday school teachers to be broken.  We need our choir and band members to be broken.  We need our Ushers and greeters to be broken.  

We don't need more programs, we need more brokenness.   I pray that the Lord continues to break me.   It is through that brokenness that I have grown closer to Christ and that is where I want to stay.  Break me today Jesus.

Following the voice,
Jeremy


Stanley, Dr. Charles. (2014) God's Purpose for Brokenness. InTouch.Org.  Retrieved February 11, 2014, from http://WWW.intouch.org.