“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
LIFE ALWAYS WILL PRESENT CHALLENGES, difficulties, and pain. The Lord uses these challenges and pain to break us of our self-reliance and selfishness. Our sin is exposed and we come to the end of our resources. Brokenness is a difficult and necessary stop on the way to being a servant.
Yet, brokenness is not an end in and of itself; surrender is required on our part. In fact, brokenness is the process God uses to bring us to the end of our personal resources, becoming empty. This is not surrender. Surrender is when we willingly and consciously choose to give up. Thus, we all must go through brokenness and surrender; in other words, we must be empty of self and willing to receive in order to be filled with His Spirit.
If we are to grow and mature as leaders, we will need to recognize that God has the best plan for molding, shaping, and transforming us into vessels He can use. We must understand that He is often doing a greater work in us as we walk through life’s difficulties. He has our best interests at heart, and the growth process, albeit painful and lonely, is for our good and draws us into a deeper relationship with God Himself.
How is brokenness a blessing to our lives and leadership? Consider this advice from Francois Fenelon (in the 1600s) to a suffering friend:
“I cannot express to you how deeply I sympathize with you in your time of suffering. I suffer right along with you, but still, it cheers me up to know that God loves you. And the very proof that God loves you is that He does not spare you, but lays upon you the cross of Jesus Christ. Whatever spiritual knowledge or feelings we may have, they are all a delusion if they do not lead us to the real and constant practice of dying to self. And it is true that we do not die without suffering. Nor is it possible to be considered truly dead while there is any part of us is yet alive.
“This spiritual death (which is really a blessing in disguise) is undeniably painful. It cuts ‘swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires with all their parts, exposing us for what we really are.’ The great Physician, who sees in us what we cannot see, knows exactly where to place the knife. He cuts away that which we are most reluctant to give up. And how it hurts! But we must remember that pain is only felt where there is life, and where there is life is just the place where death is needed.” — Francois Fenelon
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Purchase the Entire Devotional – “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”
The devotion above was taken from the 52-week Devotional entitled “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”.
Many give a mental assent to this teaching yet are often asking, “What do I do? What does Christ as life look like?“ Too often Christians err by moving too far to one side or the other—reducing the Christian life to a list of do’s and don’ts, or they actually do nothing.
These inspiring weekly devotions are just some of the actions that reflect the life of Christ in each of us, and they explore four areas as we follow the One Leader, Jesus Christ –
- A Foundational Focus
- A Personal Focus
- A Relational Focus
- A Missional Focus
Be challenged, encouraged, and spurred on to a deeper walk with Christ.
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