What does it look like to be broken before the Lord? This is a question that I asked myself this week during my Bible study time. We often have pictures of this in our minds. We see ourselves before the altar laid out, crying with our arms stretched open wide. This is a beautiful image but a deeper question is, when we are in this posture of worship and reverence before God, do our hearts look the same? Are we truly releasing everything within to make room for God?
One of the Scriptures I read said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise," ( Psalm 51:17,English Standard Version).
For many years I took pleasure in everything other than God. I really had to ask myself, "What does it look like and mean to truly be broken before the Lord and completely emptied out, knowing I have nothing to offer Him, understanding that He is the only true pleasure that can fill me up?"
There are times we bow our heads to pray and worship, thinking that we have something more valuable to offer God than what He is giving to us; this is simply not true. Sometimes we want to contribute, teach, or do something towards the work that God is doing in order to be valued, and recognized as worthy in the body of Christ. It is as if we want to prove ourselves worthy. We forget that when God raises us up and he calls us favored there is nothing above His acknowledgement, acceptance, and validity; but we must be humble before Him in order to receive the blessed gifts He wants to give us, knowing we do not deserve it.
When we enter a relationship with our own agenda by trying to shape and sculpt things or people the way that we want, we box out God; there is only room for how we think and feel.
Think about your relationships now and how they parallel your relationship with God; sometimes we do not recognize this. How we communicate daily is a reflection of our heart's condition.
There is nothing wrong with being prepared and ready when going into a situation, especially if we have been physically and mentally doing things to get ourselves ready. This is all great, but it is nothing compared to being spiritually ready and aligned with God. Our hearts manifesting our desire to glorify Him and having tangible evidence is powerful, transforming, and life changing.
There was a scenario that came to my mind that I want to share. I was walking into an event and there was a guy that I like who was in attendance. I see him sitting there as I walk into the door and he comes to greet me. I am excited and my heart is pumping. I am so nervous, and this does not usually happen to me, but I really liked this guy. I was trying to remain calm and be open; making sure my hair is right, I look good, and he really sees me. I did not want to pursue him but I did want to be in the correct posture to connect with him, that is if he liked me too. After that I started thinking of all these other thoughts and realized that none of this really matters if my heart is not correct. If this is the man that God has for me, I would definitely see this exemplified in his life and walk with Christ and mine as well. Our togetherness should exemplify Him.
Many times we want the favor and protection of God but we do not want to delight ourselves in Him; that is not how it works.
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act," (Psalm 37:4-5 English Standard Version).
When we delight ourselves in the Lord, that means His word is engraved upon our hearts. It means we are abiding in him and He is abiding in us so that what we desire, and set our eyes upon, comes from Him. His plans and desires exceed our human understanding. We must remember that we are because He is.
"My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word," (Isaiah 66:2 New Living Translation).
Being in a relationship with God and honestly broken before Him makes room for His light to be magnified and radiate in our relationships. If we let the Lord lead, we honestly do not have to worry because we will be in the right place to receive what God wants to give us, and it will be glorifying of Him.
I told a friend this past week that we are not successful because we are well known, make a lot of money, or levitate to the highest level in our careers, but instead because of the impact we have had on others. Our relationship with God and the people we come in contact with show us who you really are. People definitely remember how you made them feel.
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