Picture a younger man standing on the church steps with an older man. He’s a new believer, while the grey haired guy has followed Christ for many years.
“How do I grow in God?” you overhear the young man say. And the older man says, “Son, there’s only one way.”
“Are you open to be broken?”
This statement speaks to me on a deep level. Maybe that’s why I made up a story about two guys talking on the church steps.😇 As a Christian I expect to be molded—conformed to Christ—but broken?
Yet the Bible is filled with stories of folks who didn’t get much done for God until they came to the end of themselves. The he-man Sampson comes to mind (Judges 13-16).
This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
Isaiah 66:2
In reality, the purest form of worship is repentance. It’s seeing who we are, knowing who God is, and recognizing the difference.
We can’t stay the way we are and go with God.
Henry Blackaby
Kind reader, for you and me to continue to grow in Christ, something’s gotta give. And that would be our hearts.
Davids Daily Dose 
Comments
55 responses to “Open to Be Broken”
Thank you, Tangie. I will look for your post and make sure I read it. God Bless!
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Great topic, one of my upcoming blogs is titled Broken. Have a wonderful day/night and remain safe.
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Thanks, Deborah! Love the scripture you shared–straight from Jesus! Blessings.
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Somethings are worth two postings!
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Thank you, Deborah. I appreciate the “Refiner’s Fire”analogy.
Due to a software glitch, this post got published twice. I guess it needed to be. God Bless.
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It’s easy to acknowledge “He is the Potter, I am the clay.” It’s the “Mold me and make me, after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.” that we resist. But if we’re going to be like Jesus, we have to be willing to walk through the fire of refinement. Even in the fire, we’re never alone! Good word today, David.
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I grew up Baptist too. And now, after forty years in another denomination, I’m back!
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I remember you sharing a little once and I have been through some of my own battles. I am so thankful for the promise that “A bruised reed He will not break.” The name of the poem I quoted is “Hast Thou No Scar?” The style of the English is old, but it is one of those that I recall when I am going through my own deep waters. Have a blessed day.
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I like your Amy Carmichael quote, Pete. I hadn’t heard that one. Yes, I’m been broken before the Lord before. It was painful, indeed, but necessary.
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I grew up Baptist, Nancy, so I’m very familiar with the old hymn you mentioned. I think we sang it for an invitation every other Sunday! Thank you for sharing. Age has brought me a little wisdom as well.
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I’ve been broken a few times, though I’ve NOT always very open to it! But praise God he didn’t give up on me. Now I’m a lot older and a little wiser. My prayer is that when the next breaking occurs, I’ll be ready with the words from an old hymn, “Have thine own way, Lord. Have thine own way.”
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Sounds like a lesson learned from painful experience. My favorite quote on this is “He cannot travel far who hath no wound or scar.” Amy Carmichael
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Amen, Dawn. Thank you, and God Bless!
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Amen David. We must come to the end of ourselves for God to fully use us. Being broken brings humility before God. I trust God to break me and keep me close to Himself.
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It’s my pleasure stay blessed 🤗🥰❤️
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Priti. I just tapped over to check out your site. God Bless.
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I am open to be broken ! Beautiful article thanks for sharing 🙂😊🥰
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I understand what you mean, P. I agree, brokenness, before the Lord, can be a molding process. This is what I had in mind as I wrote, but purposely limited the scope of my thoughts. One reason I do this is because I trust others will fill in the blanks, such as you have. Thank you for your input! God Bless.
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David, forgive me if I am muddying the waters, but consider that God may use the breaking as a way of molding us. In any event, it’s much better for us if we are open to be broken. God has our good in mind, always. These days, I try to keep that in the back of my head, every day.
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Thank you, BG. God Bless!
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Absolutely love this!
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I love your reference to Gideon and his 300 mighty men! As I recall, there had already been a reduction in force before they got to the jar breaking part. God wanted only the most motivated recruits. Your comment about letting God’s light out brings to mind one about letting it in. “Everything God made has a crack, it’s how the light gets in” Thank you, Beth. God Bless! Hello Adi and Summer! 🐾🐾
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“Are you open to be broken?” When I read that question David, I thought of the jars with the lit torches inside that Gideon’s men carried into the battle with the Midianites. Part of the victory involved breaking those jars so the light would stream out. In my youth, I fought that concept of brokenness which stunted my spiritual growth. Only in getting older and experiencing true brokenness have I come to embrace the beauty of brokenness and how it makes me stronger in Christ and allows His light to shine through me brighter.
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Thank you! I want to try harder to be better, too. It’s so easy to drift along, forgetting that walking in fellowship with God and man doesn’t happen on auto pilot. I appreciate your reading and commenting. God Bless you, friend!
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You post humbled me my Friend and makes want to try harder to be better. Yes, God has to break us to reach us inside the fortress and walls we created because of sin and pride.
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Thank you for the additional information, Jo. I will look for this book!
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Hi David the author is Ann Voskamp and the book is about our “unspoken broken” that we each carry…and how through communion with Christ He shapes the broken into vessels of His love. The author has a very unique poetic style which people either do or don’t like! I tend to read anything of hers in small bites, otherwise there’s too much to swallow all at once.
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Please tell me more about the book, Jo. Who is the author? I love how God works! Thank you for sharing.
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Oh wow…I’m reading a book called “The Broken Way” right now…seems God’s trying to tell me something!
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Thanks for reading and sharing, booferchick. God Bless!
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“In reality, the purest form of worship is repentance. It’s seeing who we are, knowing who God is, and recognizing the difference”
Gosh, David. You nailed it right on the head. Thank you for this post. It really spoke to me 🙏🙏 God bless.
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“The safest prayers are dangerous.” This statement could be a whole post in itself, Gary!
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I remember praying as a teen “Lord have your way with me” I didn’t know how many times one could be broken. I suspect I had a few extra breaks from not allowing God to put some substitute pieces in the healing. TURNS OUT, THE SAFEST PRAYERS ARE DANGEROUS
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True. As Hemingway said, “The world breaks us all, and afterward some are strong at the broken places.” I found out later he meant you’ll likely live longer if you aren’t too good or too bad. Thanks, Crystal. You’re right, life happens—ready or not.
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I’m pretty sure we’ll break sometime, whether open or not. And so I try to keep my heart open.
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Amen. Preach it, Andy B!
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We don’t like kneeling by our bed in repentance, but we do it plenty! It’s good for the soul to recognise that we are not God and that our assurance of heaven is not based on our efforts, but on that which Jesus has already done on our behalf.
Repentance helps me remember who God truly is and how much I truly need Him!
Andy B
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Thank you, brother Alan. You just reminded me of one of my favorite quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We should seek to do our life’s work so well that no one else could do it better.” I try to live, and write, like that. I trust that you do, as well. I appreciate your thoughts, today and always, brother. God Bless!
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No one could put this any better David than what you have here…it is that simple. We must surrender our all to Him every day, it is only then that we can serve Him in the best way possible. I remember times when I have been at my lowest ebb that I can see how God used the situation to show His strength , Hallelujah! Thank you brother, God bless you today 🙏
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Thank you, Manette Kay. In face to face conversation, I tend to be an over explainer. In writing I try to avoid that. “Let the reader fill in their own blanks,” I tell myself. Thank you for your input. God Bless!
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I hear you, tamweary. When I was younger I felt the same way. Thankfully, growing older makes us wiser—especially if we walk with God. Thank you for reading and commenting. God Bless!
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You’re right, Betty. The other day I was standing in line at a supermarket and saw a magazine called “Self.” I’m sure this sells better than one called “Humility.” Thanks for chiming in!
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Amen! David, this is so concise and you nailed it–the gospel of what the cross Jesus bore is all about.
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When I was a young woman- before I had begun to dig deep into the Bible, I would’ve run away from that old man and discontinued that conversation. I believed that the Bible characters were actually perfect people!! It was such a relief to learn that those guys and gals in the Bible were flawed and messy, just like me- But a broken spirit, and a broken and contrite heart- He won’t despise that!💕Thanks David!
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David, this concept of “Open to be Broken” is a good one to ponder, reflect and on which to pray. I read your comment about “sin” above; I also think being humble (as in the Isaiah verse) is another trait not shown in media/popular culture today. Thank heavens we have guidance from our God for a better way to live.
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Simply B! I’m grateful you stopped by today. God Bless!
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What a great post with powerful truth. Open to be broken. And how true these words on repentance and worship: “It’s seeing who we are, knowing who God is, and recognizing the difference.” Thank you for your always good, faithfully shared posts.
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I like your thought of the picture of Christ with a little lamb on His shoulders, Bridget. Perhaps this is a true picture of what brokenness before God is. This reminds me of Paul’s words, “No discipline is fun at the moment, but afterwards it yields a harvest of righteousness.” I’m paraphrasing, of course. ☺️ Thank you got your input, Bridget. You’ve helped clarify what I wanted to say with this post. Blessings!
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I am reminded of the picture of Jesus holding a lamb on His shoulders. I have always liked that picture. Yet in reality, it can be so painful to die to self and hand full control over to the Lord. But when we do, we will find true freedom. I pray we can learn to be broken. Thank you for sharing this really great and thought provoking post!
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So true, Andy B. It seems we could look at all our digital screens for a week and never see the word “sin.” In fact my autocorrect just tried to make sin say sun.☹️ Acknowledged personal sin is as rare as a unicorn 🦄 these days. Thank you for adding to the discussion, brother! 🙏God Bless the Berry Bunch.
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Thank you for sharing some excellent scripture verses to complement my thoughts, G.W. You have added to the discussion exponentially. God Bless you, brother!
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“In reality, the purest form of worship is repentance. It’s seeing who we are, knowing who God is, and recognizing the difference.”
Thanks for this post. I’ve heard a call to prayer, but rarely have i heard a call to repentance and yet it is so much needed in our personal lives, and in our church families.
Amen
Andy B
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For us to grow from grace to grace we must be willing to accept God working into us that which we are to work out in our salvation.
“Continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13. Good word, David. Blessings!
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🙏❤️✝️
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Break me, God!
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