Are You Broken?

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” – Matthew 10:16 ”

The Strength of Brokenness
“The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.” – 1 Samuel 2:4

There is an oxymoron throughout the Bible. It says that brokenness is strength. How can this be?
How can brokenness be strength?

In order to use men and women to their fullest extent, the Lord has to break His servants so that they might have a NEW kind of strength that is not human in origin.
**It is strength in spirit that is born only through brokenness.

*Paul was broken on the Damascus road.
* Peter was broken after Jesus was taken prisoner.
* Jacob was broken at Peniel.
* David was broken after his sin with Bathsheba.
The list could go on of those the Lord had to break in different ways before they could be used in the Kingdom.

When we are broken, we see the frailty of human strength and come to grips with the reality that we can do nothing in our own strength.

Then, NEW strength emerges that God uses mightily. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Do not fear brokenness, for it may be the missing ingredient to a life that emerges with a NEW kind of strength and experience not known before.

Pray for a broken and contrite heart that God can bless.
Psalms 139: 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

WHat Really is  God’s great concern????
In the midst of this worldwide “shaking of all things,” what is God’s
great concern in all of this?
* Is it on the events of the Middle East? No. The Bible tells us God’s vision is trained on his children:
“Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy” (Psalm33:18).

Our Lord is aware of every move on the earth, by every living thing. And yet
his gaze is focused primarily on the well-being of his children.
*God fixes his eyes on the pains and needs of EACH member of his spiritual body.
*Simply put, whatever hurts us concerns Jesus.

To prove this to us, Jesus said, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are
not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Even in the midst of great world
wars, God’s primary focus isn’t on the tyrants.
God’s  focus is on EVERY circumstance in HIS children’s lives.(What a Heavenly Father we HAVE!)

Christ says in the very next verse: “ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.(Matthew 10:29).
In Christ’s day, sparrows were the meat of the poor and sold two for a penny. Yet, Jesus said, “Not one of these small creatures falls to the ground without your Father knowing it.”

Jesus’ use of the word “fall” in this verse signifies more than the bird’s death.
*The Aramaic meaning is “to light upon the ground.” In other words, “fall” here indicates EVERY little hop a tiny bird makes.

Christ is telling us,
“Your Father’s eye is on the sparrow not just when it dies BUT even when it lights on the ground. As a sparrow learns to fly, it falls from the nest and begins to hop along the ground. And God sees every little struggle it has. He’s concerned over every detail of its life.”

Jesus then adds, “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many
sparrows” (10:31).
Indeed, he says, “The very hairs of your head are numbered” (10:30).
Simply put, the One who made and counted all the stars—who monitored every action of the Roman Empire, who keeps the galaxies in their orbits—has his eye fixed on YOU.
And, Jesus asks, “Are you not
worth much more to him?”
Ephesians 2: 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, SO we can DO the good things he planned for us long ago.

Lord, I pray that I can cling to this reassurance of my Father’s love and learn to let go and be Broken of my strongholds, worries and fears.
Lord, You are so powerful, so in charge and will bless us, care for us and enable us to do good.  Help me to trust You more.  Lord, You have already told me that You will never leave me nor forsake me—I thank You for that  truth.  Help me to go  forth in the power of Your  Spirit—broken But with Your Strength!
Psalm 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want…….
Amen

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