Wednesday, March 12

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The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.  - Psalm 51:17

Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  - James 4:6

Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,  “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  - 1 Peter 5:5

These verses, and many others make it clear that what God wants from us is our humble and broken hearts.  God cannot work with a proud heart, He must break it first.  Take a few moments to read through the following list of statements and do a little spiritual self-inventory of your own heart...

Proud people are self-conscious
Broken people are not concerned with self at all

Proud people focus on the failures of others.
Broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need.

Proud people desire to promote themselves 
Broken people desire to promote others

Proud people have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope.
Broken people are compassionate; they can forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven.

Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit.
Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for others.

Proud people have to prove that they are right.
Broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.

Proud people are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation.
Broken people are self-denying.

Proud people desire to be served.
Broken people are motivated to serve others.

Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated.
Broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; they are thrilled that God would use them at all.

Proud people are wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked.
Broken people are eager for others to get the credit; they rejoice when others are lifted up.

Proud people feel confident in how much they know.
Broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.

Proud people keep others at arms’ length.
Broken people are willing to risk getting close to others and to take risks of loving intimately.

Proud people are quick to blame others.
Broken people accept personal responsibility and can see where they are wrong in a situation.

Proud people are unapproachable or defensive when criticized.
Broken people receive criticism with a humble, open spirit.

Proud people are concerned with being respectable, and with what others think
Broken people are concerned with being real and what God thinks

Proud people find it difficult to share their spiritual need with others.
Broken people are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs.

Proud people want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; their instinct is to cover up.
Broken people, once broken, don’t care who knows or who finds out; they are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.

Proud people tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin.
Broken people are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin.

Proud people are concerned about the consequences of their sin.
Broken people are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin.

Proud people compare themselves with others and feel worthy of honor.
Broken people compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy.

Proud people don’t think they need revival, but they are sure that everyone else does.
Broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.

I don’t know which of these statements strikes a chord with you, but I do know that God loves broken people!  Our God loves restores broken hearts and broken lives!

Jeff Frazier