"Break my heart for what breaks yours, everything I am for your kingdom's cause..."
"Start breaking my heart for what breaks yours, give me open hands and open doors"
Matthew 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."
These and other songs, prayers, and bible verses have been popping up in my life for a couple weeks now. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. God is obviously trying to tell me something. I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do, but I'm sure I'll come to that realization in time, and for now I'm thinking about what I know about broken hearts.
1. God does not despise a broken heart. In today's culture, I think that most people would agree with me in saying we all have an aversion to brokenness. It's pretty obvious, no one likes to feel incomplete and inferior. But the bible tells us that a broken heart is actually a sacrifice. Interesting thought, isn't it? By giving up or losing something that we care about deeply, we're giving a sacrifice to God. We should actually be willing to have broken hearts then.
2. Sometimes the best way for God to get into your heart is through its brokenness. When are hearts are broken, we become more vulnerable, as well as more receptive to help from our Savior. If you and I never reach that point of hopelessness, of despair and utter lonliness, how are we to know that Jesus is truly, without a doubt, all that we need? That he is our best friend, our eternal hope. My personal experience has been that I push God away when things are going great. "What do I need to pray continually for, I have everything I need!" Of course, I would never actually say that, but it's a pretty close description of my actions. But when I'm sad or lonely, I draw near to God and learn to draw my joy from him. And his joy is better than anything the world has to offer. :)
3. Everything is never okay. It's true, this world is always going to be desperate for a gracious, loving God who will rescue it. Basically, this means that if you feel like your life is going fantastically, look at the world around you. People are dying. Children are being killed before they're even born, young people are being sold into slavery and pulled from the life of relative luxury that you and I enjoy. Your friends, neighbors, and coworkers may be struggling with uncertainty, or feeling overwhelmed with guilt but ignorant of God's saving grace. Allow your heart to break for these awful things- these things that God's heart breaks for. Then, understand that the sorrow you're feeling is a divine call to action. Get out, and be a source of help and hope and truth for the millions of hurting people that you're sharing this planet with!
So, right now I'm being led to break my heart. That doesn't mean I will go around moping and crying (because the joy of the Lord cannot be taken from me! but that's for another blog post) , but it does mean I will be empathetic, sympathetic, and drawn to the people who need my help the most. I will stop thinking about my own needs and desires. I will not try to repair my heart with the things of this world. Those things have no place in my heart anyway, the spaces there can only be filled by the love of my Jesus. I hope you too will listen to the universal cry for help and allow your hearts to break so that God's work can be done in your life.
Also, if you want to think a little bit more about what it means to have a broken heart, look it up. -> http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/broken
Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
