Brokenness in the life of the
believer
What is it?
Why is it needed?
How do we cooperate?
Scripture relating to brokenness
• “For You do not delight in sacrifice,
otherwise I would give it; You are not
pleased with burnt offering.” Psa 51:16
• “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You
will not despise.” Psa 51:17
Scripture relating to brokenness
• The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psa 34:18
• He heals the brokenhearted And binds up
their wounds. Psa 147:3
Scripture relating to brokenness
• because your heart was tender and you
humbled yourself before the LORD when
you heard what I spoke against this place
and against its inhabitants that they should
become a desolation and a curse, and you
have torn your clothes and wept before
Me, I truly have heard you," declares the
LORD. 2 Kings 22:19
Scripture relating to brokenness
• For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I
dwell on a high and holy place, And also
with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order
to revive the spirit of the lowly And to
revive the heart of the contrite. Isa 57:15
Scripture relating to brokenness
• The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me To
bring good news to the afflicted; He has
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To
proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to
prisoners; Isa 61:1
Scripture relating to brokenness
• "For My hand made all these things, Thus
all these things came into being," declares
the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To
him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
and who trembles at My word. Isa 66:2
Scripture relating to brokenness
• "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3
Definitions
• “Contrite” is Hebrew word “nakeh”
• Meaning “stricken, smitten”
• The word “brokenhearted” is “Shabar”
pronounced “shavar”
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1) to break, break in pieces
a) (Qal)
1) break, break in or down, rend violently, wreck, crush, quench
2) to break, rupture (fig)
Examples
• The breaking of Moses –Acts 7:22-30
– From a prince of Egypt to a nobody shepherd.
- Moses was referred to as “strong in word”, but after he was sent
into the wilderness to tend sheep, he told the Lord in the burning
bush that he could not speak.
The children of Israel in the wilderness.Deu 8:2-3
"And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God
has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might
humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He
humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna
which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might
make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but
man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the
LORD." Deu 8:2-3
Peter’s breaking
• Peter’s breaking
– “The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And
Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how
He had told him, "Before a rooster crows
today, you will deny Me three times.And he
went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:62
From Saul to Paul
• Saul’s breaking
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“Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great
persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. But Saul began
ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women,
he would put them in prison. Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the
disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and he fell to the ground and heard a
voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" Saul got up from the
ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by
the hand, they brought him into Damascus.” Acts 8:1 – 9:9
Why do we need brokenness?
• "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat
falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but
if it dies, it bears much fruit. Jn 12:24
• All discipline for the moment seems not to be
joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been
trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful
fruit of righteousness. Heb 12:11
Brokenness allows us to love
• “…and standing behind Him at His feet,
weeping, she began to wet His feet with her
tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her
head, and kissing His feet and anointing them
with the perfume.” Lk 7:38
• "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are
many, have been forgiven, for she loved much;
but he who is forgiven little, loves little." Lk 7:47
Fruits of brokenness
• When we are broken, we leave our own
self reliance.
• We live dependant on Christ
• We hunger after God
• We enjoy His life and strength, rather than
our own.
• We leave our depression and the sickness
of our own souls.
How to cooperate with brokenness
• We avoid being “undone”.
• We don’t like weakness.
-Paul was well content with weakness
“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions,
with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. I have become foolish…” 2 Cor. 12:11,12
“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” 1 Cor.2:2
• To avoid weakness, we accumulate things to
make us feel clothed and strong, such as
money, knowledge, degrees, status.
How to cooperate with brokenness
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Good figs / bad figs - Jer 25
Submit to your captivity
Give yourself to the box that you are in.
Don’t avoid pain, but embrace it.
“Each day has enough trouble of
it’s own”
• You can’t produce brokenness, but you
can choose to cooperate well with the
process.
• God is sanctifying us through the
difficulties of each day and each season
– Use the difficulty to find God, otherwise you’ll
be “recycled” and taken around the same
mountain again.
What brokenness is not
• Feeling sorry for yourself.
• Self hatred