I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel. (Psalms 31:12 NASB)
The concept of a
man being a broken vessel is hard for the human mind to comprehend. Two messages revealed by the Cross of Christ
help us grasp this spiritual state. Namely, that life follows death, and that
joy comes after mourning.
As recorded in
Matthew 27:46b (NASB), when Jesus hung on the Cross, he cried out, “My God, My
God, why have You forsaken Me?” God the
Father, because Jesus took on our sins, had to turn away from His beloved
Son. Brokenness happens when spiritually
we find ourselves all alone and seemingly abandoned, even by God. Brokenness is never brought about by
something that we do, but what God does.
No amount of self-degradation can affect this spiritual condition. No extent of pain or self-sacrifice we
inflict on ourselves, can bring about a broken spirit. We would just end up being proud of our
humility. Someone once said, “Humility without grace is just pride in disguise.”
It reeks of the ugliness of self-righteousness. Jesus, in his humanness, was
honestly overwhelmed by the broken fellowship with His Heavenly Father. If you find yourself enjoying your pain, you
may not be on the path to brokenness.
So what do we
do, just hang out and expect God to do it?
I think there is something we can do.
It called obedience. Do we run or remain where God has called us when
God brings circumstances or people into our lives that test us seemingly beyond
our ability to endure. Often our human
abilities are overcome by life’s perplexities; a spiritual death transpires and
a vessel is broken. Only then are God’s grace and strength fully released.
It is difficult
for me to write on this topic as I understand how unbroken I am, but that may
be how it works. You are probably not
broken if you think you are. Only those
who understand their need can ever achieve it.
To those of you who may be in the midst of devastating circumstances and
may be feeling like I have given you a bitter pill to swallow. Remember this.
Spiritually speaking, life always follows death, and joy always comes after
mourning.
Image used with permission by Microsoft.
Ken
Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com
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