Brokenness, trials, and difficult times are very painful to experience. They are dark times when we don’t understand what God is doing. They can be times of sorrow, confusion, and even despair. They are times when our patience and our ability to trust and wait on God are challenged. However, they are times when we will learn that we can wait on God in this manner, knowing He will see us through the difficulty and bring it to a glorious end:
“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You” (Ps. 33:18-22).
These breaking times will transform us as Peter and the other disciples were. The breaking process breaks our proud hearts, removes the desire for self-exaltation, humbles our inflated egos, and leads us to one goal in life: to faithfully serve God.
As a result we will experience a depth of relationship with God as never before. We will see God minister through us as never before. We will see the power of God as never before, and we will see Christ and Christ alone exalted in our life.
It is important to understand the breaking process. If we do not understand it, we may become discouraged and bitter, believing that God doesn’t care and doesn’t love us.
Also, we must realize that brokenness is a continuing process. There may be one major breaking time in our life, but the breaking process continues throughout life. Paul experienced an initial breaking at his conversion:
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ ” (Acts 9:1-5).
That was Saul’s initial breaking experience. But God continued to allow him to experience ongoing trials and difficulties in order to keep him humble:
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:7-10).
Many years ago, the pastor who baptized me shared a statement that his daughter had written in the flyleaf of one of her books. It read something like this, “The test of true Christianity is when we can thank God for someone else’s success where we have failed.” This is also evidence of brokenness.
When we understand that brokenness is the goal of the trials we go through, then we are better able to wait on God in trusting, hopeful faith, knowing that He will be with us in the trial and will fulfill His promise to work it out for our good and His glory.
God reminds everyone who is going through difficult times to “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord” (Ps. 27:14). “For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies” (Lam. 3:31, 32).
“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).
Personal Reflection and Discussion
1. Describe what it is like for the Christian to go through breaking experiences.
2. What is God’s goal for you when He takes you through breaking experiences?
3. If Christians do not understand the breaking process, what can happen to their relationship with God?
4. Is the breaking process a one-time experience or is it continuous?
Prayer Activity
• Call your prayer partner and discuss this devotional with him/her.
• Pray with your prayer partner:
1. Pray for God to baptize you with His Holy Spirit.
2. Pray for God to revive you and His church.”
3. Pray for God to help you understand and accept what is happening when you go through breaking times in your life.
4. Pray for the individuals on your prayer list.
Excerpt From: Dennis Smith. “40 Days.”