I am forgotten
as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a
broken vessel. (Psalms 31:12 NASB)
The concept of a
man being a broken vessel is hard for the human mind to comprehend. Two messages revealed by the Cross of Christ
help us grasp this spiritual state. Namely, that life follows death, and that
joy always comes after mourning
As recorded in
Matthew 27:46b (NASB), when Jesus hung on the Cross He cried out, “My God, My
God, why have You forsaken Me?” God the
Father, because Jesus took on our sins, had to turn away from His beloved
Son. Brokenness happens when spiritually
we find ourselves all alone and seemingly abandoned, even by God. Brokenness is never brought about by
something that we do, but what God does.
No amount of self-degradation can affect this spiritual condition. No extent of pain or self-sacrifice we
inflict on ourselves can bring about a broken spirit. We just end up being proud of our humility.
It reeks of the ugliness of self-righteousness.
So what do we
do, just hang out and expect God to do it?
I think there is something we can do.
It called obedience. When God
brings circumstances or people into our lives that test us seemingly beyond our
ability to endure, do we run or remain where God has called us. Often our human
abilities are overcome by life’s perplexities; a spiritual death transpires and
a vessel is broken. Only then are God’s grace and strength released.
It is difficult for
me to write on this topic as one who understands how unbroken I am, but that
may be how it works. You are probably
not broken if you think you are. Someone
once said, “Humility without grace, is pride in disguise.
